


The Cloud That Bites The Skies

by YunaYamiMouto



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arcobaleno are adults again, Assassination Attempt(s), Assassination Plot(s), BAMF Hibari Kyouya, BFFs Hibari Kyoya and Reborn, Because no Cloud should ever be bound, Bitting to death, Box Weapons (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), But ends up as a good guy instead, Byakuran does try to take over the world, CEDEF Chief Kyoya, Canon-Typical Behavior, Canon-Typical Violence, Comic Book Science, Dino is smitten, Dying Will Flames (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), F/M, Hibari gets shit done, Hibari has a reputation™, Hibari is Hibari, Hibari is scary, Hibari the time traveler, Humor, Italian Mafia, Kyoya is done with your shit, M/M, Mentions of alcohol and drugs, Multiple Skies, Nightclub, Not Canon Compliant, Overprotective uncle Fon, Possessive Hibari Kyoya, Protective Hibari Kyoya, Reborn is reborn, Reborn loves chaos, Roll the cutest hedgehog you've ever seen, Sawada Iemitsu Bashing, Sawada Iemitsu Being an Asshole, Sawada Iemitsu Being an Idiot, Time Travel, Vongola Craziness, Vongola silliness, Xanxus is Xanxus, drinking buddies, established relationship in the future, fake identity, foundation, some drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 46,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25588813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YunaYamiMouto/pseuds/YunaYamiMouto
Summary: A scary person with a fearsome reputation finds Tsuna and Co. on a normal, sunny day, bringing news of an assassination plot on Don Cavallone.Insanity ensues.
Relationships: Arcobaleno & Vongola Tenth Generation, Byakuran & Hibari Kyoya, Chrome Dokuro & Rokudou Mukuro, Colonnello & Reborn (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Dino & Romario (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Dino/Hibari Kyouya, Fon & Hibari Kyouya, Hibari Kyouya & Reborn, Hibari Kyouya & Sawada Tsunayoshi, Hibari Kyouya & Vongola Tenth Generation, Hibari Kyoya & Hibird, Hibari Kyoya & Roll, Hibari Kyoya & Xanxus, Sawada Tsunayoshi & Vongola Tenth Generation Guardians
Comments: 32
Kudos: 90
Collections: A Labyrinth of Fics





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm new to this fandom, so please be gentle with me?
> 
> I want to hear what you think!
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy it!

It started out as a normal day - or, well, as normal as any day can possibly be in Namimori, anyway. The sun was shining, the weather was not too hot despite the approaching summer thanks to a gentle breeze sweeping through the town and people were easily going about their days, completely ignorant of the fact that there was a slowly growing mafia family going back home after a tiring school day in Namimori Middle School.

Sawada Tsunayoshi, more commonly known as Tsuna, couldn't help but sigh quietly, trying not to be heard by his companions. Gokudera Hayato, his self-proclaimed right hand man, and Yamamoto Takeshi, the school's baseball star, both didn't share in his worry, but it was well founded. What may Tsuna be worrying about, some may ask? Well, it started that morning, when the Vice-chairman of the Namimori Disciplinary Committee, Kusakabe Tetsuya, approached them during lunch time, asking for the Chairman.

Now, if it was anyone else, it wouldn't be surprising or suspicious at all that a student had skipped school or left early without leaving a notice with the teachers if the school doctor or nurse sent them home. However, as it was Hibari Kyoya, the Chairman himself, they were talking about, it was very worrying, because the last time Hibari Kyoya hadn't shown up to school, Mukuro Rokudo had had him beaten up and tortured in his hideout. Hibari-san never missed school. He didn't trust anyone not to disturb discipline in his absence and thus tended to be ever present at the school, even during holidays and summer vacation. That he didn't show up to school could only mean that something had happened. Whether it's bad or _really_ bad is yet to be seen.

Tsuna just hoped that there won't be another major fight so soon after the Battle for the Rings. Gokudera-kun was still healing from some of the wounds Bel had inflicted and Yamamoto had only just returned to baseball practice. Ryohei-oniichan was still not allowed to do too extreme training sessions, his healing progress kept under close observation by Colonello's ever sharp eyes. Tsuna himself had only recently fully recovered from his training with Reborn and the fight against Xanxus, from all that time spent in Hyper Deathperation Mode, so he'd rather like a bit of a reprieve. He has no idea how Chrome, Mukuro or Hibari-san are doing and he sometimes worries for them, but Hibari-san was not exactly the type to allow others to fuss over him and he seemed mostly fine whenever they crossed paths with him.

That didn't alleviate Tsuna's worry in the least. Hibari-san may possess a monstrous strength and an unrivaled will power, but he was still human. It is not impossible to hurt or kill him. Tsuna didn't want to think about it, but the fear that something might have happened to someone who innocently got dragged into this whole mafia mess without their consent because of him has been plaguing him since Kusakabe-san brought the matter before them that morning.

His friends didn't seem to see anything wrong in this situation, but Tsuna's been told plenty of times by Reborn that he should trust his Hyper Intuition. If it's telling him something weird is happening, then more likely than not, it _is_. Which is rather worrying, considering just how fearsome an opponent one must be to challenge Hibari-san.

If Hibari-san went down, then that means they have a serious problem on their hands.

"Oi, Juudaime, are you okay?" Gokudera-kun asked, snapping Tsuna out of his musings and back to his friends. Both the Italian and the baseball star slash swordsman were looking at him in faint concern. Tsuna, while feeling touched, wondered if he should share his thoughts with them. They hadn't been concerned or showed any interest in Hibari-san's possible condition so far ...

"Could it be that you're worried about Hibari?" Yamamato asked, hitting the nail on the head dead on. Tsunade couldn't help but laugh sheepishly at how easily his friends read him.

"I guess I can't help it. Hibari-san isn't one to just disappear like that." The last time Hibari-san had vanished from school, it was to train with Dino-san, but the Disciplinary Committee had been notified to keep things in check at the school. No such note has been left and while it is implied that it must be done regardless of their being or not being any direct orders from the Chairman, Hibari-san usually likes to give orders anyway, because he didn't want people to have an excuse for not doing something right.

"Maa, maa, there's no need to worry," Yamamoto reassured, as easy going as ever. "It's Hibari. Gola Mosca couldn't take him down and he fought half of the Varia members and came out as the winner. Hibari can take care of himself. He probably just found an interesting group of delinquents to discipline and got a bit too carried away. I'm sure he'll be back to school tomorrow already."

"You're probably right," Tsuna admitted with yet another sigh, yet he didn't feel any better than before. Still, the reminder that something inhuman is needed to fight Hibari-san to a standstill reassured him enough that the Chairman should be fine, wherever he is.

"That jerk tonfa freak, making the Juudaime worry," Gokudera-kun grumbled but it didn't last long as they soon arrived at Tsuna's house and called out greetings to Sawada Nana as they took their shoes off.

The woman herself poked her head out of the kitchen, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Welcome home, Tsu-kun! A handsome friend of yours is here to see you. I sent him up to your room so he can wait for your return. You should probably hurry and get up there. He says it was urgent. Also, take these up with you. I promised him some snacks a while ago but I had to wrestle Lambo-kun and I-Pin-chan out before they disturbed his peace. He looked rather sleepy when I left."

The three middle schooners shared a long, confusion written plain on all three of their faces. The last time Tsuna had such a greeting upon arriving home, it had been when he first met Dino-san over a year ago. But there were no men in black suits outside of his house, so it couldn't possibly be his self-proclaimed honorary older brother. And Tsuna didn't know any other adults that could fall into the same level of handsome as Dino-san, so he had no idea who his mother might be talking about. She's never called Shamal handsome before and he was rather ruggedly good looking.

Tsuna just hopes it's not another mafioso. He has enough of those in his life already.

Such hopes are squashed as soon as he, Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto step into his bedroom, where Reborn has apparently went well out of his way to set up a traditional Japanese tea room, with tatami mats, bamboo fountains, incense, rice paper screens and hot, steaming tea just waiting to be accompanied by the snacks his mother had sent up. The hitman himself was dressed differently, not in his usual black suit and fedora, but also not in any of those costumes that could be called a mockery of whatever it is he was dressing up as at the time. The kimono he was wearing was actually respectable and very traditional, making Tsuna feel a bit inadequate at the moment, and Reborn actually had an air about him that said he was treating their guest with seriousness and respect.

Looking at the man, Tsuna could definitely see why both his mother and 'tutor' were treating the man so differently than pretty much anyone else who'd ever set foot in the Sawada household.

The stranger was tall, dark and handsome, mature features with sharp eyes, perfect composure and a slim frame that held itself in such a way it whispered of unspeakable power hiding just beneath the pretty surface. The air of confidence around him spoke of skill and the easy grace with which he performed the tiniest of movements revealed experience. When blue eyes that almost looked like silver reflecting the early evening sky opened and locked onto his own, a part of Tsuna that might just be his hindbrain screamed of danger and a predator that he should definitely run from.

For a moment, Tsuna felt like he was facing an older version of Hibari-san, all lethal grace and concentrated power, but then it passed as the man finished his sip of tea and calmly placed the cup down, eyes closing for a blink and opening back up without that dangerous glimmer in them. Or it was at least suppressed at the moment, which only made the stranger even more dangerous.

Before Tsuna could contemplate further on that, Reborn chose to acknowledge their presence. "Ciaossu, Dame-Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto. Please feel free to join us. Our friend has come a long way and may need our assistance."

The man let out what might have been a mix between a snort and a huff. "You make it sound as though I can't achieve my aim on my own, Arcobaleno. I simply need you lot to act as a distraction. I don't need that wimp getting in the way and accidentally having himself killed. It would mar my reputation to fail such an easy mission."

"Mission? Are you in on the whole mafia game, too?" Yamamoto asks and Tsuna almost facepalms, because he can't believe the taller boy still thinks that everything that's happened to them is just pretend.

"Are you a part of Vongola?" Gokudera-kun asks, sounding both curious and wary. The future Vongola boss doesn't even waste time being exasperated at his 'right-hand man's' irrational feeling of being threatened by any man older than him.

Besides, the stranger's answer is much more interesting, if also a bit worrying.

"Don't be mistaken," the black haired man in a perfectly pressed black shirt and a very nice violet button up shirt says, sounding disinterested at best. "My only real connection to Vongola is that I find them interesting enough to stick around. They give me a lot of potentially strong people to fight, allow me to move about freely as I go about my own business and oftentimes give me challenging near suicidal missions like this one. Or rather, I take them myself before they can talk themselves into sending a pathetic unit out in my stead, as though any number of men can get the job done better than me. You could say I am loosely affiliated with them, but I have no intention of being part of any organization but my own Foundation, where discipline and competency are the true values treasured, instead of just being too nosey to be ignored."

"Why you-" The explosives expert starts, only to be cut off by Reborn.

"Spoken like a true Cloud. I would expect nothing less from you." That shut the teenagers up and they all glanced back at the stranger in a new light. So he was a flame user, like Basil and Xansus and Tsuna.

 _'Cloud? He's like Hibari-san, then, right? The aloof cloud that protects the family from their own independent point of view, or something like that. I guess it makes sense that he'd get offended by being grouped with others like that. Hibari-san's just like that, too, if a lot more forceful on the 'keeping the distance' part. Maybe Hibari-san is just a bit more, as Onii-san would say it, extreme about it than other Clouds?'_ Tsuna tried to offer his most welcoming smile to the surprise guest, but the man didn't seem to notice or simply didn't care. Tsuna was willing to bet on the second. "What brings you to Namimori, then? You mentioned a mission?"

"I would prefer it if I didn't have to repeat myself, so either summon all of your Guardians or take notes so you can fill them in later, because I won't explain twice." Tsuna sweat-dropped but Gokudera-kun seemed to be of the opinion to humor the stranger and took out a notepad with a roll of his eyes, pressing the pen in a show that he was ready to dot down any important pointers so that the black haired man won't have to repeat himself. "I guess I should start from the very beginning. Dino Cavallone is the target of an assassination plot. I'm here to make sure it doesn't go through."

"What!?" The teens all yell in surprise and shock, the words struggling to sink in despite their immediate reaction. Tsuna couldn't think of a single person that might want Dino-san ill, mostly because he only knew the man as kind, gentle and very friendly. Sure, Dino-san was strong and obviously smart and a good leader, since he saved his family from bankruptcy a few years back, but it had never occurred to him that the twenty two year old could have such dangerous and bitter enemies. It should have, really, because he knew what the mafia was. He didn't know the details, but he can guess rather accurately how opponents and rivals are dealt with. Varia had given him quite an eye-opener on that during the Battle of the Rings. But Dino-san wasn't Vongola! Surely he can't have-

"The Cavallone is an old, strong family, with close ties to Vongola and enough other, minor allies to be a threat to more than half of the mafia world. Any one of those families, if given the chance, would try to take the Cavallone down, especially if it's through assassinating the boss. He's got strong connections with Vongola X and even the Guardian of the Cloud Ring seems to be somewhat ... tolerant of him." For some reason, Reborn seemed to have to restrain a chuckle at that, which was completely ignored by the visitor as he continued. "Usually, Cavallone wouldn't need any extra outside protection, as long as his men are around, and they always are. However, this time, it is three families that have combined forces to take down the Cavallone and their chosen method is rather ... unorthodox, so to say. I found out and thought it might be an interesting venture." The 'So here I am' didn't seem necessary.

"Unorthodox methods? What kind of unorthodox methods are we talking about?" Gokudera-kun asks, frowning in confusion now. Tsuna kind of agrees with the confusion part. All mafia methods are unorthodox by the rest of the world's standards. How much worse could these three families could possibly be. Then, all of a sudden, the silver haired boy grew tense, a glare developing in pale green eyes. "Wait just a minute! Juudaime is the best boss there is and will be a great Vongola leader, but right now he holds very little sway over how Vongola does things and Vongola has never interfered in another famiglia's matters unless they explicitly asked them to! If Cavallone asked Vongola for assistance, the whole mafia world would know of it. And you said that the Guardian of the Cloud Ring is fond of that Haneuma! But Vongola Nono's Cloud Guardian died eight years ago!"

"In the Cradle Incident, no less," Reborn supplied. Tsuna blanched as he realized where this might be going. There were just too many possibilities and almost none of them were pleasant.

Especially when Gokudera-kun slammed a palm against the low table, his free hand holding lit dynamites in the visitor's face. "Just who the hell are you, where did you come from and what the hell do you want from Juudaime, bastard!?"

The man didn't seem in the least bit disturbed to have dynamite sticks burning away, ready to blow, right in his face. If anything, he seemed even less impressed with them than when he'd first saw them enter the room.

Tsuna all but leaped on the temperamental Italian, holding his waist futilely while Yamamoto grabbed his shoulders to drag him away from the stranger. "Please don't blow up my house, Gokudera-kun!"

"Ahahaha, fireworks are best used outside and when it's dark, Gokudera."

As if the current insanity wasn't enough, the door to his bedroom banged open just then, I-Pin chasing Lambo in, scolding him for stealing the new treats Nana had prepared for the 'handsome visitor' and asked the little Chinese girl to bring up. Of course, in the same crazy way it happens any other time except when Lambo himself crawls in, the purple Ten Years Bazooka somehow ends up swallowing Lambo and triggers the switch of the five year old Bovino with his 'adult' self.

The teenager stands confusedly in the middle of the room, blinking away the minute shock as he takes in the usual chaos that is the Sawada household, catching the plate of treats just as it fell back down from where Lambo the toddler accidentally launched it when he tripped and fell into the Bazooka. "Yare, yare. Never a dull moment with you, is it, young Vongola." Then adult Lambo takes a better look around, finally noticing the new addition to the craziness, who was beginning to look rather irate.

For the first time since any of them have met adult Lambo, they see him blench and pale as though he'd seen a ghost, the way he never does even when Bianchi is chasing him with her poison cooking. In fact, his reaction is so violent that it's noticeable enough to get the other three to stop and look over. Tsuna swears the Bovino is shaking more than when the teenage Lambo had fought Leviathan of Varia during the Lightning Battle when he had switched with his even older self. Tsuna exchanges glances with his friends and they nod, decisively coming to the agreement that maybe this man should probably leave the house and never come back, when Lambo falls into a perfect sieza, extending the plate of treats like an offering to a vengeful god, asking for mercy.

"I apologize for being too loud, Kumo-sama!"

_'Kumo-sama?!'_


	2. Chapter 2

The black haired man, now dubbed Kumo-sama, snorts,taking a cookie from the plate, looking utterly unimpressed. "I will discipline you when I return, Bovino." The teenage Lambo shudders in fear, making Tsuna frown and take a step forward, about to defend his friend, but the guest speaks up again. "However, your presence might come in handy in this situation, so I will withdraw my judgement if you do exactly as I say."

"Of course! This one is grateful for your mercy!"

"Stop sniveling and listen," came the sharp command and Lambo immediately shut up. He sat up straight with the most serious expression any of them had ever seen him wear. Tsuna almost couldn't recognize his permanent little house guest in that expression. Lambo actually looked sharp, for once. Like a true mafioso, a true hitman. "I am in need of more rings, so when you return, that is your first order of business. I don't care from whom you get them, though Cavallone usually has the best high purity ones, so start with him. I don't care how you get them, just bring them to me as soon as possible and as many as you can find. Second, you are to inform Sawada Tsunayoshi not to interfere, or else whoever might try to come after me will find themselves on the receiving end of my steel." Lambo winced at that. "Third, you are to return every five hours to report and to receive my report to bring back. Fourth, if I hear Cavallone got in _any_ way involved or informed of this mission until I can come back-"

"He won't! I'll make sure!" Lambo reassured quickly, wincing at the volume he produced, especially when the man twitched. "Sorry, sorry."

"Finally, you are to look into how long I can stay. The machine is a bastardized version of _your_ family's prized weapon/tool. I expect a report on that to be brought to me by tomorrow. I know I will have at least _that_ much. Also, check if destroying the machine will prevent the switch when the predicted time elapses. If not, destroy it and all plans regarding it until there is nothing left. If I have to undergo a second mission like this-"

"Leave it to me, Kumo-sama!" And, just like that, there was a big pink cloud again, leaving in adult Lambo's place his child version, who was picking his nose. The Bovino frowned up at 'Kumo-sama' when he realized the man had his stolen sweets. "Hey! That's Lambo-san's! Give it back!"

"No," the man replied simply and handed the plate back to I-Pin, who gazed up at him in admiration. Tsuna, for a second, wondered if she'd develop a crush on this stranger, too, and he'd have to throw her out of the window. It wouldn't be too bad if I-Pin got over Hibari-san. Hibari-san lived in Namimori, so the chances of them meeting are very high, while this stranger will be leaving sometime soon and they'll probably never see him again, which means no more bashful I-Pin due to a crush.

"Give it back to the great Lambo-san!" Lambo yelled and launched himself at the stranger, taking out a rifle out of his hair - that was new; he's never used guns before - only for the stranger to calmly tilt a bit to the side, letting Lambo fly right out of the window, crash into the tree in the yard and slide down like a cartoon character. Sniffling could be heard back in Tsuna's room, as well as the usual 'Tolerate'.

The stranger seems unruffled.

"You're from the future then, aren't you?" Gokudera-kun asks, seeming to understand something. "The machine that's based off of the Ten Year Bazooka, it's a time machine, right? You're a hitman for Juudaime when he becomes the official boss of Vongola!"

The man doesn't confirm nor deny. Instead, he introduces himself. "You may refer to me as Alaudi Kumo. Call me Alaudi, and I will beat the snot out of you."

"That's not all that creative on your part, though it does make me wonder where you learned that name," Reborn says, drawing their attention to the fact that the name they were given was actually an alias. "I can guess, though, that you don't usually bother with such things."

"Not in the least, but the fragile balance must be kept, or so that marshmallow freak keeps on insisting. I'm not entirely sure if it applies to how this machine works or not, but it does not matter. Caution and patience is better than rushing into something blind."

Reborn is quiet for a moment, before his lips curl in pleasure. "You've really matured. You must be terrifying." Then, as if he hadn't said something rather disturbing, Reborn easily switched topics. "So, if you're here to protect Dino, why are you actually in Namimori and not in Italy? Don't tell me that baka moved his base just because he wanted-"

"I'm in Namimori because I stalled the enemy's operation until I knew that Cavallone _wasn't_ in Italy. My younger counterpart is in Japan, Namimori, which is halfway around the world from my target, whenever we are to switch. Cavallone, though, likes to visit ... certain people whenever his work allows it. The base of operations I took down is in Italy. The three families are in Italy in this time, too, so the strike team's younger counterparts would be in Italy, too. They would be more than close enough to Cavallone to get to him before I can even buy a plane ticket, let alone get there. So I stalled them enough until I was certain that Cavallone would at least be on a plane heading for Japan and away from immediate danger. I've bought myself a day to prepare everything here so I can take down the assassins without causing a disturbance and drawing unwanted attention to myself."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best. Hibari would come after you to bite you to death if you caused a ruckus in Namimori, especially in Nami-Chu," Yamamoto advised and Tsuna noticed that Kumo-san seemed rather amused by his warning for some reason. Then it occurred to him that Kumo-san probably knew how scary Hibari-san can be far better than them, since Kumo-san had mentioned the Cloud Guardian earlier, and Hibari-san was bound to be even more scary when he grows up.

"I am aware. That's why I wanted this to be a covert operation, but I've been fighting the three families for two days and I have run out of rings to use. They break far too easily," the man said with an annoyed sigh.

Reborn frowned at him in confusion. "Why would the rings break? And why not just use _your_ ring?"

"My flames are too intense for the rings, no matter their class or purity. As for why I am not simply using my own ring, it is because it might disturb the balance if I introduce a power like that to a world it does not belong to. Or rather, the time it does not belong to. This is a very delicate situation and introducing a ring that gives me practically limitless power over my flames would not be beneficial for anyone in the long run."

"Um, I don't want to seem dumb, but why are we talking about rings so much? I mean, sure, the kid said they're super important and those Varia guys fought really hard for them," Yamamto said, rubbing at the back of his head in some sort of unease or confusion. "But why do I get a feeling there's much more to them than just some sort of symbolic power? Or something."

"Please don't tell me we'll have to have _another_ tournament for the Vongola Rings?" Tsuna all but begs the stranger from the future.

He swears he heard something that might have been 'weak' and 'herbivores', though it might just be his mind playing tricks on him from his earlier worry over Hibari-san because the visitor only sighed. "Vongola Rings are not the only rings in existence. They may be one of the most powerful sets, but they are far from the only rings on this planet, Sawada Tsunayoshi. There are plenty of weaker rings, from D to A class, Vongola being above A class, depending on the purity of the flames they can conduct when put in use. They are not just pretty accessories." Kumo-san reaches into his blazer, pulling out a strange music-box like cube and a simple ring with a cut purple stone. "Rings are used to activate Box Weapons by channeling Dying Will Flames through them, charging the box and releasing the weapon inside. It can be an Animal-Type weapon, it can be a Battery Box with extra Dying Will Flames or it can contain weaponry made or enhanced by the Flames. Like the rings, the Boxes, too, have rankings depending on their strength and the amount of Dying Will Flames needed to open them. Each ring and Box are attuned to a certain wavelength that differ the Flames, meaning a Cloud type Flame can utilize a Cloud type ring and open a Cloud type box. The same goes for the other elements. People with Sky Flames, like Sawada Tsunayoshi or Xanxus, can open any of the other Boxes, but they can't use it's properties to their full extent or potential."

"So when you say your flames are too intense for your rings, that means..." Tsuna trailed off, unsure of how he should finish that sentence.

"That they break, yes. Even the tiniest bit of my flames being fed into an A class ring breaks it. I usually stick to lower class rings because they are less valuable but can channel more than enough of my flames into a Box for it to open, given the tiniest bit of my flames is required. Occasionally, Bucking Horse would gift me with high purity rings for one reason or another."

"Yes, some inconceivable reason, I'm sure," Reborn mumbles to himself, sounding devilishly amused, but Tsuna figures it'd be best not to find out why.

Instead, he turns to their guest from the future. "So, how can we help?"

Kumo-san frowns but obviously decides he'd rather just finish this conversation as soon as possible and be on his merry way. "I need you to distract Cavallone. He'll be trying to hunt down Hibari Kyoya, and I already have enough to deal with than keeping him off of my case, too."

Tsuna sighed in relief. At least they now knew what Hibari-san was up to! _'Of course Hibari-san would figure out something was going on and try to find out what. He's been rather unhappy with pretty much everything since the Battle for the Rings damaged to school so much, even if it all got fixed later. He probably got wind of trouble brewing and is out trying to find out what it is. Dino-san would surely follow after Hibari-san since he seems quite fond of him and if Hibari-san is indeed trailing Kumo-san, Kumo-san would have to worry about whether two innocent parties got mixed into the conflict from his time period.'_ "Don't worry, Kumo-san! We can keep Dino-san busy for a few days for you!"

Kumo-san frowned. "I think you are underestimating Bucking Horse and his desire to annoy and stalk Hibari Kyoya. He's known to run away from his men whenever he is in the same city as him, seeking him out even though he knows he'll just have to spend hours on end fighting him on the closest conveniently empty rooftop."

"That idiot," Reborn mutters to himself and Tsuna shudders in sympathy for the blond in question. He doesn't want to think of what punishment the hitman might be cooking up right now for his former student. "Should we be on the lookout for the assassins or will you be taking care of that?"

"You as you are," Kumo-san said with a pointed look in the three teens' direction. "Are not ready to fight these assassins, as they have Box Weapons. I forbid you from engaging them unless the situation is desperate. You, Arcobaleno, can do as you please. To doubt your skill would be an insult to the both of us."

Reborn nodded, smiling at the time traveler as Kumo-san gracefully stood up to leave. "Be careful out there. I'd rather like it if I can get a drink with you later."

Kumo-san smirked. "You never change. Waiting for six years last time must have killed you."

"Good company is always worth the wait."

Something seems to change in the man's eyes at that, something almost like fondness, before he turns around and jumps out of the window just as Tsuna's mother opens the door with yet more treats for their guests. "Oh? Where did your handsome friend run off to, Tsu-kun? He didn't even get to try the strawberry ones!"

Tsuna just sweat dropped but Reborn promised Kumo-san would drop by again and that seemed to satisfy Nana. When she closed the door after leaving the cookies for them, Tsuna turned to his 'home tutor' with a curious expression. "Do you think it will be as hard as Kumo-san says to keep Dino-san's attention on us instead of running off to find Hibari-san?"

"Hm, depends on how long he can stay," the baby says with a contemplative hum. "If he can stay longer, then he might not consider it a big deal."

"Won't Hibari get mad at him if Dino doesn't go to greet him?" Yamamoto asked and they all felt the heavy depressing dread at the thought of an angry Hibari Kyoya marching into this very same house, ready to bite them all to death for stealing Dino-san's attention and time that could have been spent on sparring.

"Can't we make sure Hibari-san doesn't find out? I mean, before Dino-san can finally go off with him?" Tsuna asked desperately and Gokudera-kun actually snorts.

"I actually think that's impossible. That tonfa freak controls everything in Namimori and has killer instincts to boot. There's no way that he wouldn't know if Cavallone is here."

"That's what I was afraid you would say," Tsuna said as tears streamed down his face, anime style.

"Leave Hibari to me," Reborn said, drawing the others' attention onto himself. "You guys focus on distracting Dino. Preferably call in the rest of your family, Tsuna, and make a team building exercise out of it. Dino may seem a bit ditsy, but he's not actually an idiot. If he focuses on something, it's very likely that we'll have an actual challenge on our hands."

"Geeze, those two are like a match made in heaven," Gokudera-kun grumbles and Tsuna tries not to read too into it because he's sure Gokudera-kun hadn't meant it like _that_. Not that he's against having such preferences or anything, it's just weird for him to imagine Dino-san with Hibari-san of all people! Or was it the other way around? Hibari-san usually rather disliked people like the Cavallone boss, what with the crowd of bodyguards always around and Dino-san's usual cheer and noise levels. Tsuna for a brief moment wondered if the Disciplinary Committee Chairman ever saw the blond without his bodyguards around and realized just how uncoordinated Dino-san could be. In some ways, he was almost as bad as Tsuna, better only because being around his men allowed him to be really strong and skilled.

"So it would seem," Reborn commented with a smirk shadowed by his hat, making Tsuna frown suspiciously at him.

"Where do you even know that guy from, Reborn?" He asked, not bothering to hide neither his suspicions nor his curiosity.

"An old acquaintance that I very much respect, despite how much younger than me he may be." The brunet sweat dropped at that, because Reborn was just a baby, two, maybe three years old, no matter how smart or skilled or scary he might be. There was no world in which Kumo-san might be younger than his 'tutor' from hell. "Should you be wasting time? You need to gather reinforcements before Dino actually arrives. It's questionable whether he'll drop by here first instead of just going straight for Hibari at school."

"Don't you usually know the second he comes to Japan?" Reborn was either a stalker or had more insect spies than Tsuna gave him credit for. When silence was his answer, Tsuna groaned, Gokudera-kun cursed and Yamamoto laughed, just as the sound of several cars parking outside the house reached his ears.

"Hahaha, seems like Kumo knows Dino quite well!"

"He could have given us more of a warning," the silver haired Italian groused and while Tsuna agreed, he actually blamed Reborn for them being so caught off guard.

He glared at the hitman when Reborn handed over a cellphone already pre-set to call the Sasagawa household.

Reborn just smirked.


	3. Chapter 3

"Yo, Tsuna! Long time no see, little bro," Dino, the Cavallone boss, said with a cheery wave and a fond smile as he stepped into his 'little brother's room after greeting Nana down in the kitchen, no doubt leaving his men there, too. Reborn studied him, searching for any signs that an assassination attempt has already been made, but Dino seemed carefree as ever and while Reborn could see the usual traces of stress from working hard to be able to take a few days off, his former student didn't seem to be carrying any other burden. Which was good, as it meant 'Alaudi Kumo' had managed to indeed hold the enemy's plans off long enough for Dino to be a safe distance away. At least two days - one to figure out their target was not in Italy and another for the assassins to figure out where he went and to get here - had been bought with however many rings 'Kumo' had sacrificed. Seeing as every moment might be crucial since not even the time traveler himself knew how long he could stay, those first two days were a godsend, so to speak.

"Ah, Dino-san!" Tsuna, who had just finished giving the Sasagawa siblings a call and asked for them to bring along Haru as well, smiled plastically at the blond, who arched an eyebrow at the expression but didn't question it. Reborn wondered if he should give his former and current student a joint training session to remind them how important acting/lying and vigilance were for their survival. "What a surprise! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I managed to get my work done enough for a week-long visit! I figured I should drop by to say hi before I go looking for Kyoya. If he learns I'm here and didn't go to greet him immediately, he might just get annoyed enough to bite me to death instead of having a spar." Reborn rolled his eyes as all the youngsters shivered. Honestly, Hibari wasn't nearly as bad as these wimps portrayed him. He usually never beats someone up for no reason. He might be a bit more prone to blood-lust and was indeed strong enough to probably make Varia quality, but he was simple enough to understand to the extent of at least not getting yourself bitten to death. Offering him cute small animals would be enough to distract him and as long as you don't disturb the discipline, Hibari has no reason to hunt you down. Easy enough to understand, right?

The three middle schoolers naturally panicked at hearing what Dino said. Well, it's more like Tsuna and Gokudera got shifty while Yamamoto just laughed it off. "You and Hibari really like to train, huh?"

"Well, it's more like me trying to keep my head attached to my shoulders than your typical 'training'. I swear Kyoya gets stronger each time we fight. It's frightening how quickly he picks up on things, analyzes opponents and judges the likeliness of which move someone will make. If only he'd stop being so rash, he'd be a real monster."

"You have no idea," Reborn muttered to himself, remembering the grace of hidden strength, the sure confidence of every step, the absolute certainty that _he_ was the predator in the room upon stepping in despite the World's Greatest Hitman sitting right in front of him. The rashness will fade with maturity. He was sure of that much. "How are things going back home?"

Dino sat down and started filling him in on some new business deal the Cavallone were getting involved in and Reborn let him ramble right up until the doorbell rang and moments later, Sasagawa Ryohei kicked down Tsuna's bedroom door, giving the occupants an 'extreme greeting'. The Vongola Sun Guardian was followed in by the much more polite Kyoko and Miura Haru, who smiled at the boys and went join them at the table, but Tsuna grabbed them and dragged them back into the hall to fill them in while Yamamoto distracted Dino with talks of sports. Reborn and Gokudera both snorted when Yamamoto appeared surprised that Dino might be into horseback riding. It really shouldn't be all that surprising. The Cavallone family actually started their mafia career through washing money through horse races before escalating into the horse market and then becoming a proper mafia family when they made enemies from some of their usual clients in the betting pool and they started hiring more people with the fortune they made. No Cavallone boss didn't know how to ride a horse.

"Hahi!?" Came Haru's surprised exclamation, probably at Tsuna's request to spend a week distracting Dino. Reborn was actually getting rather curious as to what these kids might come up with as an acceptable, appropriate way to distract a lovesick Bucking Bronco.

Yes, _lovesick_. Reborn was sure only he had noticed and perhaps Dino's constant bodyguards, but no one else seemed none the wiser about the Cavallone don's tender feelings for his first ever student. Reborn knew him well enough to have caught hint of it from the first time he saw Dino again after he took Hibari out of Namimori during the Battle for the Rings. The way the blond had talked about Hibari was rather telling. And every meeting since, the fact that Dino had spent the night by Hibari's bedside after the prefect had finally collapsed from the tiring, trying night, the way he seemed more than ready to always talk about Hibari made it all rather obvious to anyone with any experience in the matter. Reborn just had to wonder whether the idiot had figured it out for himself. And how Hibari might react. From the conversation with 'Alaudi Kumo', it is rather obvious those two will become considerably closer in the future, but how long will it take?

"Ne, Dino-san, we were planning to have a sleepover since tomorrow's the weekend. Why don't you join us?" Tsuna asked as he returned with two more awkwardly smiling individuals and Ryohei, who was simply Ryohei if he wasn't lying through his teeth to Kyoko. Reborn sometimes wondered and despaired for the fate of Vongola. Between Tsuna as the future Decimo and his Guardians ...

"If I'm not intruding, I'd be glad to," Dino replied with a gentle smile and the room collectively sighed in relief.

"We should play some sleepover games!" Haru immediately suggested, further distracting Dino and pretty much everyone else as they started discussing what they should do first. Reborn smirked and quietly snuck out of the room. He entered the guest room at the other end of the hall, went in and opened the window. He then climbed out and up to the rooftop. It didn't take long before whatever game the others were playing started creating quite a bit of noise. Reborn ignored them and waited. The hours passed and the sun was setting, painting the horizon in beautiful red and orange shades and Nana called everyone down for dinner - no doubt a feast, since they had so many people over - but Reborn stayed until I-Pin was sent to get him. He sent her down and waited for another minute before going down for dinner. It was indeed a feast and everything was super delicious as ever, though Reborn found it actually kind of hard to appreciate it given his thoughts kept jumping from topic to topic, person to person. It didn't stop him from teasing Tsuna and Dino, tormenting Lambo or avoiding Bianchi's poison cooking, though. He knows how to multitask.

Afterwards, the others went back to Tsuna's room while Reborn stayed with Bianchi after dinner to fill her in on the visitor she missed by going out to get more supplies for her poison cooking. He made sure to explain what they knew of the situation well away from the Cavallone men or the ears of Nana, Haru and Kyoko - who were helping the mother wash up after dinner like the nice girls they were. He wasn't sure if they should explain things to Fuuta, too, but he knew telling the normal Lambo was out of the question. The stupid cow would surely blabber it out at the first opportunity he could get and while the civilians might think it just cute, childish ramblings, Dino and his men knew about the Ten Year Bazooka enough to know a form of time travel is already possible. It would be best not to let anyone know about the incoming danger.

"I understand," Bianchi said with determination. "Should I join in on distracting Haneuma?"

"It would be best if you take on more of a defensive part in this," the baby said with a tired sigh. "Namely, to be on the lookout for any suspicious people, except 'Alaudi Kumo', that is. He'll be making an appearance again soon. Tall, dark, handsome, sharp, in a black suit and tie with a purple shirt and an air of immense danger around him. Can't miss him. It would be like ignoring all of your instincts if you do. And don't try to feed him. It's very unlikely he'll take food from anyone." Trust issues can do that to lesser men, let alone _him_. "I don't want you getting offended, starting a fight and ending up hurt."

"How sweet of you to worry for me," the woman said dreamily and Reborn would have rolled his eyes at her ridiculousness had he not been so fond of her. "So I take it he's strong?"

"His present day counterpart is _strong_. The ten years later him is even more so. I almost pity the fools who will feel his steel, but since they're targeting one of my students, I don't actually feel sorry for them."

"Should we expect a visit from the Vendice or CEDEF? Or organize for a clean up?" Those were actually good questions. He'd prefer it - as he is sure 'Alaudi Kumo' would, too - if Iemitsu and the trench coat wearing mummies didn't get involved at all, but he knew chances of that are _very_ slim, to the point that perhaps even Nono himself might snoop around to figure out what 'Alaudi Kumo' is up to. It would be dangerous for them to disregard the possibility of it happening just because it seems unlikely.

"Who knows," was all he could say and then changed the topic for a while before he left Bianchi for the guest room once more. He passed by Tsuna's door and peeked inside to see what the childish ones were up to. Fuuta, I-Pin and Lambo had apparently dozed off already while the rest seemed to be playing a very intense game of Monopoly. It seemed to be a tie between Dino, Gokudera and Haru, who was unfortunately cosplaying as Rich Uncle Pennybags at the moment, while Yamamoto seems to have already fallen into bankruptcy and Ryohei and Tsuna were in jail already for the third time. Kyoko seemed to be doing moderately well, all things considered. That was good news if Tsuna wanted her to be his lady one day. It's always good to have someone good with finances around.

He left them to it and continued on his way. He knew _he_ was inside before he even opened the door. "Ciaossu, Hibari. I wasn't expecting you back this soon."

Steely blue eyes looked up from a pile of papers they were reading. "Baby."

00000

Tsuna resignedly gave Gokudera-kun the last of his money, trying to smile reassuringly at his friend and convince him to just take it. After all, it was only a game and Tsuna wasn't a sore loser. He'd gotten too used to being Dame-Tsuna to really be bothered by losing a simple game of Monopoly while Gokudera-kun had gotten really riled up, just like Haru. Dino-san, too, but he was much better at hiding it even as his stack of money nearly doubled the other two's combined.

Predictably, Tsuna losing set off Haru on Gokudera-kun, who yelled right back at her, the two getting rowdy enough to wake up the kiddies. Which, unfortunately, lead to Lambo wanting to play, I-Pin inspecting the pieces and then Fuuta started ranking all the best mafioso Monopoly players, which made everyone and everything levitate, messing up the game. Haru and Gokudera-kun protested, claiming they just had Dino-san 'right where they wanted him', while the said blond just sighed as his hard efforts were wasted. Kyoko-chan, Ryohei-oniichan, Yamamoto and Tsuna didn't really care, as they had already lost and besides, Tsuna was too busy panicking about his room getting messed up while school idol and the baseball star were amused and in awe of the floating gig.

Because Lambo wanted to play, he was extra noisy, which only annoyed Gokudera-kun more, to the point that he decked the Bovino had on the head. Lambo of course started crying and Haru screamed some more. Dino-san tried to calm the situation, but ended up having to dodge dynamites and the cane Haru had added to her costume all the while maneuvering around the game pieces and Tsuna's stuff. As things were wont to do, before any of them knew it, Lambo was jumping into the Ten Year Bazooka and a puff of pink smoke left in its wake a frazzled looking older Lambo, hair and clothes in a mess and panickingly looking around. Adult Lambo's appearance broke Fuuta's concentration and everyone fell to the ground, along with all of the items that had been floating about. All rather noisily.

As if it wasn't loud enough to make the neighbors complain, Haru ended up landing on Lamo and she started screaming about creepy perverts.

Which was when the door slammed open, hitting an unfortunate Dino-san right in the face and planting him against the wall, the door holding him in place. Not that Tsuna actually remembered that part because the person standing in the doorway was _much_ more important for his survival. Because right there stood a severely pissed off looking Kumo-san, his eyes actually glinting with Cloud Flames and a killing aura spreading from his person. Everyone froze, gulping in involuntary fear, but older Lambo once again showed he knew this terrifying person rather well because he once again fell into a seiza and presented a pretty box with the Vongola crest on the lid.

"I got you your rings, Kumo-sama! Half of them are from Cavallone, so there should be a lot of high purity ones!"

Kumo-san actually seemed a bit surprised that Lambo had gotten what he asked for so swiftly. Those steel-like eyes narrowed. "When did you get to see Cavallone?"

"Just now. I didn't tell him anything other than that you need more rings! I swear I didn't reveal anything!" Lambo reassured in a panic. Kumo-san grunted and stalked inside, took the box and turned to leave. He paused in the doorway and looked icily at them over his shoulder.

"You want to play games? Then let's play my _favorite_ game. I am going to sleep down the hall. If you wake me up, no doctor will be able to put you back together because they won't recognize the pieces. Everyone understand the rules? _Good_." And with that, Kumo-san left, leaving in his wake a terrified bunch and a shaking Lambo, who looked about ready to jump into the Ten Year Bazooka again and leave it to his even older self to deal with this craziness.

Tsuna, for all that he was terrified into absolute silence and stillness, couldn't help but frown at the feeling of deja vu he was experiencing. He just couldn't put his finger on when and where he could have lived through something similar. He just knew that he _had_.

Reborn poked his head through the doorway and shook it in disappointment at them. "Dame-Tsuna," was all he said before turning around and going after Kumo-san or his own whims, as per usual, leaving them to try and shake off the fear. The bedroom door creaked as it finally unstuck itself from the wall and Dino, knocked unconscious, fell face first to the carpeted floor. The blond mafioso didn't so much as twitch besides taking deep breaths and Tsuna sighed. That was at least good. If they can keep Dino asleep until the rest of them wake up tomorrow so they can continue distracting him, then they may manage to get through the first day of their 'mission' just fine.

"I think that's actually enough for today, everyone," he told his friends and was not at all surprised when they all sighed in relief. Sure, Dino-san had said he'd stay for the sleepover, but they hadn't been sure if he'd run off if one of his men brought news of a Skylark-sighting. Hibari-san wasn't the only one who had some sort of an obsession in that strange relationship of theirs, after all. "Good work." After the collective cheer died down, they set about preparing the room for sleep. Kyoko-chan and Haru left to bunk with Bianchi in 'her' room, Haru the most eager about getting away from 'that pervert' who was a still shaken up adult Lambo.

Gokudera-kun shook his head as he took in how quiet and polite Lambo was being. "I never thought I'd say this, but that stupid cow is somehow too quiet."

Lambo, unexpectedly, immediately shushed him. "Of course I'm quiet!" The usually mature version of Lambo glared as he hissed out the whispered sentence. "I don't want to get disciplined again! Kumo-sama is the worst when he has to discipline someone! I'd rather stay in one piece, thanks." He then lunged forward and slapped a hand over Ryohei-oniichan's mouth when the older Sasagawa looked like he was about to say something, probably including the word 'extreme' at unnecessarily high volume.

"If you got disciplined by that guy as you were growing up, then I'm not at all surprised anymore just how differently you act compared to your present self," the dynamite expert commented, only for all of them to stiffen when pink smoke suddenly engulfed the teenager, leaving behind the normal Lambo.

"Yo, Dame-Tsuna! Lambo-san wants sweets!" Trying to calm him down or shut him up only made him louder. "You shut up, Ahodera! The great Lambo-san wants sweets! Lambo-san wants to play!"

A killer aura seeped into the room and they all shivered in fear, shaking as they looked over their shoulders to see what may as well have been death itself standing in the doorway, eyes glinting with purple Cloud Flames and a suffocating vacuum of killing intent seeming to surround Kumo-san like a damned halo. "Wao. It seems I get to start disciplining you lot earlier than the first time around. Saves present me quite a headache. I almost envy him."

"Kumo-san, please listen," Tsuna desperately tried to moderate but a single step by Kuma-san into the room had them all fleeing to the opposite side, Yamamoto even going as far as to try and open the window so they could escape. Gokudera-kun was too proud to just not put up a fight at all and had some dynamites out but seemed too shaken to do anything with them and even the Sun Guardian didn't seem up for a fight. Though that might be because Kumo-san had taken out a ring and seemed willing to waste it on them. None of them actually knew what the ring could do, but they didn't doubt that Kumo-san would introduce them to a whole new definition of pain and hell if they don't make a run for it.

"Shit, the window won't open!" Yamamoto cried, distressed. "It's stuck!"

Tsuna thought he might have heard a familiar phrase before the punishment started being dealt out, but by the time he woke up the next morning with quite a number of bumps, scratches and bruises, he didn't remember anything but the fact that he will _never_ again let Lambo stay in his house when Kumo-san was around.

00000

"Oh, they sound like they're having fun!" Nana, down in the kitchen serving tea and coffee to the adults and Reborn, commented when the house started shaking and explosion-level loud hits could be heard coming from Tsuna's bedroom. She smiled as she took a seat herself while the Cavallone men looked like they were hesitating to run up there and save their boss. They weren't as sure as Nana that something as innocent as 'playing' was going on, but for some reason they were sure their boss was alright. Reborn had said, after all, that Dino was already 'asleep'. "Isn't it nice of Kumo-san to indulge kids and play silly games with them? He must be so kind. I hope he rubs off on my Tsu-kun. Men like that are a rare catch."

Reborn smirked behind his cup of tea. He rather hoped 'Alaudi Kumo' rubs off on Tsuna, too.

That would, after all, make him a good, strong boss.


	4. Chapter 4

"Ah, I feel so refreshed!" Haru exclaimed as she, Kyoko and Bianchi entered the kitchen for breakfast, pausing when they saw how miserable the boys seemed. "Hahi! Is everything alright, Tsuna-san? Why do you all look like you got in a fight with a rhino?"

"If only." To everyone's surprise, it was actually Ryohei who breathed that comment, for once subdued and not at all enjoying the fruits of fighting against a strong opponent. Sure, he obviously liked to win like everyone else, but he seemed to enjoy the rush of battle more than the victory itself.

"I agree," Yamamoto, also sounding very unlike himself, breathed. "A rhino would have just stomped all over us and left us alone. Getting disciplined by Kumo-san feels almost the same as getting bitten to death by Hibari. Is something wrong with me that I'm contemplating which is the lesser of two evils? I feel like that's not something I should be thinking about."

"Please don't, baseball-brain. You might just summon that tonfa freak to take offense to us over something on a Saturday and decide we need to be bitten to death and I'm really not in the mood to try and fight today," Gokudera grumbled, face-down on the table.

Lambo, who was wrapped in bandages from head to toe, an extra swathing over his mouth so he can't speak except for an opening for a spoon so he can drink his miso soup breakfast, was tied to a chair and trying to be as loud as usual, but whoever had mummified him had done a good job. Barely any sound left his mouth, making the morning almost peacefully quiet.

"Ow, my head," Dino moaned, rubbing at a serious bump on his forehead as Romario looked it over and made sure his boss didn't have a concussion or anything more serious than a bruise. "Ugh, I feel worse off than if I had been drinking too much and I can't remember _anything_ after Fuuta started his ranking."

Said boy, who had been miraculously spared last night, looked a bit shaken as he had his breakfast but none the worse for wear, which really couldn't be said for any of the others, who had dressed wounds and vicious looking bruises all over their bodies.

"Honestly, boys, you can't roughhouse it like that," Nana admonished as she placed some food in front of them, greeting the girls and waving them over for breakfast. "You need to be more careful! Eh? Where's Kumo-san? He was here last night and I didn't see him go out."

The boys all stiffened and Reborn smirked, greatly amused. "He woke up early and left to deal with some business. He didn't want to trouble you with breakfast so he took some fruit and hurried off. Said there were some people he needed to ... _discipline_ -" The boys all shuddered in fear and Reborn held back a cackle at their reaction. "That arrived in the wee hours of dawn. He might not make it to dinner."

"Ah, that's a shame," Nana said before turning back to her cooking like nothing of note had happened. Dino's men looked rather unsettled that someone had managed to walk right past them and that they hadn't noticed, since they had spread out in the living room for the night so anyone who was leaving the house would literally have to walk by them.

Reborn had to hide his amusement behind a sip of tea. Ah, he could just _imagine_ what the future is like if Tsuna and his Guardians had moved into the Vongola Mansion in Italy. Even if 'Alaudi Kumo' didn't stay there most of the time, the times he did must be _quite_ interesting.

"So, Dino," the hitman turned to his former student when breakfast was almost done, catching the blond's attention. "What will you be doing today? I heard that the Disciplinary Committee has meetings all day long today, so I doubt bothering Hibari would be a good idea, especially with that bump."

The Cavallone boss sighed, rubbing said bump gently. "Yeah, you're probably right. I'm in no shape to meet up with Kyoya like this. He'd throw me out of the Reception Room window if he realized I came with absolutely no intention to fight him or that I'm in no shape to take his usual forms of 'communication'."

Reborn was of the opinion that the air quotes were a bit too much, but he let Dino have his dramatics. For now. "You should probably wait until Monday then, before you seek him out. So you can actually give him a challenge instead of getting yourself beat up with no chance to fight back."

"Haha, no way! Kyoya would kill me for real if I didn't announce myself before then."

"That's probably true." The others could only watch as the blond sighed in resignation and they wondered how the hell it sounded so fond at the same time. "Well, you should probably go back to your hotel room to rest up. Even though I like Hibari, I know he's not the easiest to deal with."

"Understatement of the century," Tsuna muttered to himself but it was just loud enough for Yamamoto and Gokudera, who were sitting on either side of him, to hear, as well as Reborn who had ridiculously sharp ears. "Then, Dino-san, why don't you drop by for breakfast tomorrow before you go to Hibari-san? Would that be okay, Kaa-san?"

"But of course, Tsu-kun~!" Nana chirped, apparently delighted by the idea. "It would be a pleasure to have you with us for meals every day during your stay, Dino-kun. Please don't be shy. It's always so nice to have a full table."

The blond, of course, found he couldn't say no, not just because of the marvelous food but also because the smile on Nana's face was the type anyone would hesitate to chase away, accidentally or otherwise. When the Cavallone boss agreed to stop by tomorrow early in the morning, Vongola X and his friends all sighed in relief. Dino bid them farewell not long after breakfast, stating he had some things to take care of despite this being his vacation, and as soon as all the Cavallone were gone, the kids ran to Tsuna's room for a war council.

"We need to keep Haneuma busy for as long as we can tomorrow. Reborn-san bought us a day and we could even partially attribute it to Kumo-san, seeing how last night he had dealt us _all_ quite a few injuries, fortunately including Haneuma, but I doubt either of them will be this helpful in the future," Hayato said as soon as everyone was seated. "We need to carefully plan Operation: Haneuma Hot Potato or else we might get _disciplined_ again."

The boys all shuddered at the mere thought, feeling spiked pains of their injuries that they had all but forgotten about until that moment. They were used to injuries at this point, given the crazy lives they lead these days, but that didn't make them any more pleasant.

"Actually," Takeshi piped in with one of his usual smiles, though it looked a bit strained. Might be the split lip, though. "I think the more appropriate name would be Operation: Haneuma Keepaway because hot potato is played by quickly exchanging a ball-"

"Shut up, baseball brain! The rules of the game doesn't matter!" The dynamite obsessed Italian snapped. "What's important is that we keep Haneuma away from Hibari for as long as Kumo-san needs us to. And for that, we need a plan."

"Well, Hibari-senpai is always at school, right?" Kyoko asked, more for confirmation than anything else, and the Namimori Middle School students all nodded. "So the first place we should keep Dino-san away from would be Nami-chuu. Or at least always have someone keeping an eye on him when he's at school. That way, we can control the possibility of him finding Hibari-senpai and steer him away or distract him if he gets too close."

"Way to go, Kyoko-chan!" Tsuna praised and Haru even applauded her friend. The ginger haired girl just smiled.

"Only one problem," Yamamoto said reluctantly. "We all have classes and Hibari patrols the halls every day. We'll get bitten to death if he sees us ditching class."

"I'm not scared of that tonfa freak!" Huffed Gokudera and Tsuna kind of sweat dropped, because only suicidal or utterly ignorant people weren't afraid of Hibari Kyoya.

"Oh, oh! I could do it!" Haru said excitedly, drawing everyone's attention to her. "I don't go to Nami-chuu, so I can call in sick, disguise myself expertly and follow Dino-san around to prevent him from meeting Hibari-san! Leave it all to Haru!"

"Just ... Please don't dress in any strange costumes, Haru. And don't stick out too much. I think Dino-san is the only non-student that Hibari-san lets enter the school without consequences and that's only because Dino-san's willing to fight him each and every time," Tsuna said, but he could see that his words weren't registering at all. He sighed, wondering if Hibari-san will hunt him down and bite him to death because Haru's his friend and it's definitely against school rules for outsiders to visit without prior notice. Hibari-san might even go as far as to inform Haru's school why she's missing classes ... Except Hibari-san only cares about Nami-chuu and it's students, despite claiming all of Namimori as his. Hibari-san will clean the streets, sure, but he probably won't bother with students from other schools not following the rules unless they're 'disrupting the discipline' while ditching classes. Hibari-san sure is a complicated person to understand. He wonders how Reborn and Dino-san seem to be doing it so easily, dealing with Hibari-san.

"Oi! I want to be part of these plans to the EXTREME!" Ryohei yelled, all pumped up, though he didn't move around as much like he usually would with boxing stances and moves. Not even he was impervious to the wounds dealt by Kumo-san. "Haru can have Monday! On Tuesday, I will challenge Haneuma to an EXTREME boxing match!"

 _'He expects to recover from these wounds by Tuesday!?'_ All his fellow injured wondered, incredulous, but they didn't voice their skepticism.

"Dino-san uses a whip," Yamamoto reminded - or informed, as they weren't sure at that point if Ryohei had ever actually met the blond mafia boss until last night - the boxer. "I doubt he'd like to try boxing."

"Doesn't he always complain when the tonfa freak manages to strike him in the face?" Gokudera wondered, more to himself even though everyone heard him.

"Well, being hit in the face by a tonfa can't be pleasant," Tsuna said with nervous laughter, just imagining how, sooner or later, that same fate will befall him - befall them _all_ \- for the chaos they might have to pull to keep Dino-san away from Hibari-san. He didn't doubt for a second that they're all _doomed_.

"Especially if it's Hibari wielding said tonfa," Yamamoto said by way of agreement, laughing just as awkwardly. The whole room sweat dropped together as they no doubt came to the same conclusion as Tsuna had moments ago. There was no hope for them. Hibari was going to bite them all to death with extreme prejudice.

Because where anyone associated with Tsuna or Reborn goes, chaos follows and Hibari Kyoya hates the discipline being disrupted.

"I'll start making arrangements for my own funeral," Tsuna said through a waterfall of silent tears, already resigned to his fate.

In that moment, the doors opened and they all whirled around to see who it was, only to freeze at the sight of Alaudi Kumo walking in, Ten Year Bazooka in one hand, a shaking and petrified five year old Lambo in the other. The purple weapon was immediately pointed at the child as Kumo-san dropped him in front of Tsuna and Kumo-san fired before anyone could do anything. As soon as the pink smoke cleared up, teenage Lambo blinked a few times in confusion before freezing like a scared bunny in front of a predator and then promptly falling into a seiza, bowing his head until it touched the floor.

"Report," Kumo-san ordered without any inflation in his voice, quite possibly still pissed from last night, and Lambo quivered but was wise enough to follow the order.

"As you requested, I had my family's scientists, as well as the Vongola allied scientists, look into the device that brought you and the assassins to this time. We had a bit of an unexpected surprise - your younger self made such a mess of the enemy base we almost couldn't recognize the layout and find the lab; was it really a good idea to leave one of the cloud hedgehog boxes for him to find? - and quite a few of the infiltration and recovery team tasted steel, but the operation was a success. Any remaining assassin squads were thoroughly dealt with and all the data on the machine has been forwarded to Giannini-san, Spanner-san and Irie-san as well as the Bovino famiglia's scientists. Fon-san refused to let any of the research go to Verde-san, saying he didn't trust him not to mess up your one way to return home while he experiments, so we might get some delays in answering certain questions as the scientists duke it out or Verde-san causes trouble to get the data. Marshmallow-head and Yuni-chan were also contacted to consult on the matter, so more data is still being reviewed. For now, the only thing we know for certain is that, depending on the amount of flames channeled into the device, the number of people who went through and the number of rings and boxes, your stay in this era can last anywhere from four to seven days. Since the machine was rather messed up from both overcharging from use and from the explosions happening around the base as your younger counterpart dealt with the personnel of the base, it is taking Spanner-san some time to recover the crucial data I've mentioned before. Good news is, at least, that it seems that the machine doesn't need to be intact and up and running for you to return. I've stressed to Spanner-san just how important it is that we receive more precise information about the length of your stay and Irie-san is watching over his progress so he doesn't get distracted by the device itself, so we should have a more precise answer tomorrow. If you can answer any of the questions needed to calculate the length of your stay, it would greatly help us."

"Other than myself and the ten rings - as well as _my_ ring - I brought through with me, I would guess that the others had one ring each, except two who had backup rings. I don't know the number of boxes besides my own - three - but I do know that at least twenty people other than myself went through the device's portal before I could get through. I can't give you more precise numbers. The lab rats will have to work with that." Tsuna and the others sweat dropped, because that was the first time they ever heard of _scientists_ being referred to as 'lab rats' instead of whatever poor soul was their test subject. Though it's quite possible that the 'lab' was a specification and that 'rats' was an outright insult. "What's the situation back at home? Has my absence been noted in the outside world?"

"The Foundation is taking care of it. No one is aware of the fact that you and your ten-years-before counterpart have switched places. Boss is having kittens about your 'reckless actions', though, and we're still having trouble keeping it from Cavallone that you've been involved in what has been dubbed as the 'biggest famiglia massacre since Daemon's time', which is actually quite impressive. No matter the age or era, Kumo-sama is still Kumo-sama. Your younger counterpart seems rather fond of Roll. To be expected of Kumo-sama, though Boss would appreciate it if he stopped testing out the Box's capabilities within the HQ. It is not the Foundation's HQ, after all. We don't exactly have the necessary training room equipped for holding up to such Cloud propagation abilities. Also, you should probably know that he managed to get Roll Flame drunk this morning. It was a disaster. Octopushead might try to make you pay for it."

"Send the bill to Bucking Horse, since I'm doing this because of him," Kumo-san replied casually, waving the matter off and the teenagers, including teen Lambo, all sweat dropped. Lambo even looked like he was expecting that answer. "Also, preferably keep Fon away from younger me. That's bound to be unnecessarily messy, if I remember my own teenage temperament well."

Lambo drooped a bit. "Well, that is ... Impossible already, Kumo-sama. Fon-san was the first one on sight after we heard about the decimation of the enemy base. It's quite possible their reunion caused some of the damage that made even the foundations look unrecognizable."

"Tch."

"This one apologizes, Kumo-sama," Lambo said in a panicked rush, bowing so his forehead slammed against the floor. The Vongola Tenth Generation all winced. Even Haru, who wasn't fond of older Lambo, joined in on the sympathy. "Though I must say they seemed to be doing rather well this morning. Well, before the Roll incident. Other than that, things are going smoothly. Like I've already said, no one but the Family and our allies know that you're here or that your younger counterpart is in our time. Pineapplehead and Kiri-chan are doing an undercover investigation as to where the higher ups of the enemy are hiding while the Varia are out destroying the other known enemy bases."

"Wao, they're stupid enough to steal my prey? I'll deal with them when I return." There was a very scary glint in those gray eyes that made Tsuna want to hide under his bed and never come out again. Surely it wasn't cowardly to try and hide away from someone who so casually referred to 'dealing' with the _Varia_ of all people! "But that aside, here is my report." The dark haired man casually pulled out a bundle of papers lit with a seal made of purple Dying Will Flames like how Vongola Nono had sealed his orders to make them legit. Lambo scrambled to take the papers when Kumo-san extended them to the teenager from the future. "Hand it only to Sawada Tsunayoshi. He knows who else needs to get a copy. Also tell Tetsu not to lose my younger counterpart from his sight. Bucking Horse gravitates to any version of me like a magnet. I won't forgive anyone who messes up this plan."

Lambo only had the time to squeak out an understanding before the time was up and a pink smokescreen enveloped him, leaving in its wake the baby Lambo, who blinked up at them in confusion. Kumo-san didn't acknowledge anyone as he simply turned around and swept out of the room.

Everyone was quiet for a while before Lambo started complaining about being hungry.


	5. Chapter 5

"Eh? Fon and Verde? Are you sure you remembered the names right?" Reborn asked much later when Tsuna told him about how their 'war council' had been interrupted for Lambo's report to their guest from the future.

"There's no doubt about it," the young Sawada replied with a sigh, eating his dinner and trying not to think about how complicated and hard things will be, come tomorrow and every day for the rest of Kumo-san's stay in this time. "Those were the names adult Lambo mentioned. Verde, I remember from that time with the invisibility suits and those two stupid assassins, he's one of the Arcobaleno, right? But I don't think I've ever heard of this 'Fon' person before."

"He's one of the Arcobaleno as well, the Arcobaleno of the Red Pacifier. He's also I-Pin's master and possibly the best martial arts master the world has seen so far. He's mastered 107 martial arts, or at least that's how many I know of since the last time I met with him or had any contact with him. That he and Alaudi Kumo would be close ... Well, I guess it's to be expected, as I'm 97% sure they are related somehow," the Yellow Pacifier Arcobaleno said, causing Tsuna to widen his eyes in surprise.

"Eh? Really?! No wonder Kumo-san is so strong then! To be trained by an Arcobaleno, and probably from a young age-"

"You've got it wrong," Reborn interrupted his student, almost sharply. "The Arcobaleno formed when Alaudi Kumo would have been very young. Fon had to leave his family in order not to draw too much attention to them from his enemies and rivals. My guess would be that Alaudi Kumo met with Fon again, if not for the first time ever, only recently in _our_ time. At least judging from the words you told me he said. That reunion was probably rough on them both. It took the Arcobaleno quite some time to open up to each other at all, but once we did, Fon often talked about a sister and a nephew he was really fond of. It may have crushed him to have to abandon his family. It was probably even harder when he got the news that his sister died. I don't think Fon has met with Alaudi Kumo since a long time ago. If they meet again, we might be there to witness it, knowing our luck."

"Yeah, knowing our luck, we'd somehow end up in the middle of a tense family feud, too," Tsuna muttered and Reborn smirked. Seriously, considering their luck and the fact that chaos seemed to follow them all like a lost puppy, it's really more than likely that they'd find themselves dodging stray attacks from the Storm Arcobaleno and 'Alaudi Kumo'. "Speaking of family feuds, the Varia seem to be on good terms with the rest of Vongola again, in Kumo-san's era."

"It's possible there had been a dangerous enemy that had attacked the Vongola famiglia. If that's the case, then all factions of Vongola would unite to save themselves and the famiglia." Reborn pondered this for a moment before shrugging. "It may have just strengthened the already existing bonds and made new ones. Our guest made it sound like those three enemy families were quite desperate to deal _some_ damage to Vongola, or at least the alliance between Vongola and their oldest allies, the Cavallone. It means that Vongola is rather well off. Such desperate actions are not used against a weak opponent."

"But why not target Vongola itself, instead of Dino-san? I mean, I'm glad it's not me, don't get me wrong, but it seems like too complicated of a plan to me to just go for Cavallone if they could simply assassinate the future Vongola boss, who seems to be me, despite me not wanting to be one."

"That's actually a good way of thinking, Dame-Tsuna. Perhaps my training is finally bringing some fruit," Reborn said with a touch of pride, smirking even, before he fell serious again. "You're right that it seems too complicated. It's indeed easier to plot the assassination of a kid away from any competent protectors and immature Ring Guardians who have not yet even discovered their true potential, but it's also a rather well known fact already that Nono sent _me_ to train you for your future position. It's possible that was enough of a deterrent. But with the type of weapons the future has to offer ... It's quite possible that despite my best efforts, an assassin could get in a good shot and take you out. So why go for Dino and not Vongola X?"

"What if the target they are trying to get at are ... " Tsuna hesitated but a prompting glance from Reborn had him finishing his thought. "What if the target they're trying to get at are neither Vongola nor Cavallone? What if it's someone else?"

Reborn actually felt something like dread seep in. "What do you mean? Who could be this enemy?"

The brunet shrugged uneasily. "Someone from the future we've not met yet? Or someone Dino-san's close to that we don't know? Maybe ... " Tsuna bit his lip, hesitating again, and Reborn wondered if his Hyper Intuition was whispering to him possibilities. It is a very strange ability most Vongola bosses possessed. As long as it is related to people, the Vongola Hyper Intuition didn't seem to have any clear limits. "Maybe it's a move against Kumo-san?"

The dread from before solidified. "What makes you say that? We don't actually know if Dino and Alaudi Kumo are on that great terms, despite him being here to stop an assassination plot."

"But we do," Tsuna said kind of dejectedly. "Remember? He practically told us himself the other day. I mean, it's not like he said the words, but it's obvious Kumo-san gets along well with Dino-san, if he knows his habits that well and if he remembers where Dino-san would be these days ten years later. And he said Dino-san gets him those really good rings, so it's pretty clear that they're on good terms."

 _'Could Tsuna have detected more with his Hyper Intuition that he still doesn't know how to interpret?'_ Reborn knew Dino. He knew him well enough to know that no matter how many years may pass, the blond won't change and it's already obvious to him today what the 'relationship' between Dino Cavallone and 'Alaudi Kumo' could one day be. He didn't know 'Alaudi Kumo' as well as he did Dino, but he saw enough of himself from his younger days in the young man to be able to recognize some of his tells and after knowing him this long - almost two whole years at this point - he learned the tells specific to the person himself. The way 'Alaudi Kumo' spoke of Dino made it clear that the potential that could be seen _these_ days seems to have been fulfilled.

"Or maybe they went after Dino-san because of Hibari-san!" Tsuna's sudden exclamation almost startled the Arcobaleno. "Dino-san is one of the few people Hibari-san doesn't mind being around and Kumo-san implied they are even closer in the future, since Hibari-san isn't just 'tolerant' of random people! And since Hibari-san likes fighting so much and seems to be traveling, it wouldn't be surprising if he amassed quite a few enemies that would want revenge, but I'm not sure if Hibari-san actually has any family or that he'd ever get so intimately involved with the Vongola for them to be the target of someone's vengeance, which leaves Dino-san, the only notable figure Hibari-san might 'like'."

"I think you're overthinking this right now, Tsuna," Reborn said as a way of getting the boy off track. It's really none of their business why someone might attack the Cavallone ten years from now. What's important is that it's being handled and if it _does_ , indeed, turn out to be a personal matter, Reborn rather doubts the people they're discussing would be very happy to learn they're prying into private business. "Alaudi Kumo is working hard to keep Dino alive and the conflict silent, not disturbing Namimori, so you must work hard, too, and distract Dino for however long he needs you to."

"But wouldn't Dino-san actually be the safest with Hibari-san around? If they teamed up, I'm pretty sure nothing could get in their way."

"He has his reasons and we don't know enough of the situation going on in the future to make that call. Only _he_ does. Surely you wouldn't endanger such an important operation, right?"

Tsuna deflated but accepted the situation as it was. "I'm going to bed, since I might need all the energy I can get tomorrow to keep Dino-san distracted. You coming?"

"I'll be up in a minute," Reborn assured with a little smile and the Sawada child nodded and left for his room. Reborn waited a few minutes before climbing the stairs as well, but heading in the opposite direction, to the guest room. He wasn't surprised at all to find their time traveling guest sat on the bed, back against the wall, gaze fixed outside on the starry sky. "How's your hunt going?"

"How's your 'distract Hibari Kyoya' plan going?" 'Alaudi Kumo' asked with a snort.

Reborn smirked, entertained as he always was when speaking with this person. "I'm officially starting tomorrow, as far as anyone's concerned."

"My hunt officially started this morning," the other replied in kind. "I found three of them lurking around the hotel he usually uses. Good thing I bought out all of the hotel sweets for the next couple of days so he had to go to the other hotel. Two more were waiting there, but they have already been disposed of as well."

"So, five down, fifteen more to go, at the very least. Sounds like you'll have fun."

"Not really," the black haired man replied with a yawn hidden behind a politely obscuring hand. "The families involved in this stupid stunt aren't known for having strong Flame users and aren't nearly rich or influential enough to hire stronger independent hitman. They've actually sent a proposition to the future you, as well as the other Arcobaleno, but even Skull and Verde turned them down."

"Even Viper?"

"Like I said, not nearly rich enough," the other shrugged. "Not many dare rise against Vongola these days. Not when the Cloud Guardian took over as Head of CEDEF." The smirk on the man's lips was echoed by the Arcobaleno.

"You took over after Baka-mitsu? How did he take it?"

"He was angry, since he had technically officially left Basil as his successor, but unlike Sawada Iemitsu, Basil realized that the role of the External Advisor can only properly be fulfilled by a Cloud. Or rather, the Cloud Guardian, seeing as CEDEF was actually designed with the Guardian of the Cloud Ring in mind, back in Vongola Primo's days. Basil remained the official Head of CEDEF, which was basically in name only, until Sawada Tsunayoshi shut his incompetent father up and declared that, as Vongola Decimo, it was _his_ decision who would be his External Advisor. Sawada Iemitsu tried to prevent it a few times, even resorting to trying to force a Harmonization on me-"

" _What_!?" Hissed out an enraged Reborn, because that is simply _not done_. The Vindice didn't even _try_ to capture people who try to force a Harmony on another. They usually either kill them or leave them to be killed if the Harmonization is a failure. He couldn't believe Iemitsu would stoop so low. Only the lowest scum of the earth tried such a despicable thing.

'Alaudi Kumo' only smirked, despite there being a very clear anger in his eyes at the mere thought of that attempt. "He was foolish enough to forget that I've had _three Skies_ , oftentimes even a _fourth_ , courting me and Harmonizing with me for years now. Since no single Sky can actually provide for me all that I need, nor do I have an interest to bind myself to anyone, I wander from Sky to Sky as I see fit. Xanxus provides the most interesting missions and the most brutal training sessions/spars when I need them. Sawada Tsunayoshi allows me to wander as I please and still offers me a place to belong when I feel like returning, keeping me up to speed with anything that might be happening even though I do have my own information network. The times I bother with Byakuran, the fourth Sky, he has interesting information to share with me. And Bucking Horse always welcomes me home and showers me in gifts, sometimes a bit too enthusiastically. I am what one might call a _true_ Cloud. There _were_ some tensions in the beginning, honestly, when Sawada Tsunayoshi was supposed to finally inherit the Vongola, when Bucking Horse finally managed to form a deeper bond with me besides sparring partners, when Xanxus finally let go of his grudge against Sawada Tsunayoshi enough to swear loyalty to Vongola Decimo as long as he gets to play with a certain Cloud from time to time, when all three of them realized they were attempting to court the same Cloud for different reasons. In the end, the Harmonization that took place first was with Sawada Tsunayoshi, but I share a Harmony with all three of them, and to a lesser extent Byakuran because he mostly annoys me. So that Sawada Iemitsu tried to force a Harmonization on me was as laughable as it was pathetic and insulting. He may be a powerful Sky, but _I_ am quite possibly one of the strongest Clouds in history and it took _three_ very powerful Skies to form a true lasting Harmony with me."

"What an idiot."

The Cloud nodded. "After that attempt, Sawada Tsunayoshi all but exiled him from anything Vongola related. After all, if he is willing to go against the External Adviser ... "

"If he's willing to go against the second most powerful figure in the famiglia, what's to say that he won't go against the boss, right? I'm surprised you didn't deal with him yourself and finished it."

"I would have, but the little animal would have been sad and I don't need that weighing down the bond. Xanxus, when he gets surly because the Varia chefs didn't cook his meat right, is bad enough." 'Alaudi Kumo' sighed in exasperation and Reborn was tempted to drag the man out for a drink right this instant.

He's never actually heard of someone juggling three Skies before, but he figures if anyone would be stuck in such a weird situation, it would be _this_ person. "So Tsuna was right. This _is_ somewhat related to you. Do people know that Dino's one of your Skies? Is that actually the binding factor of the future Vongola?"

"Not at all. While it _might_ bear _some_ possibility that Bucking Horse is targeted because of me, it is very unlikely, as the fact that the Varia boss, the Vongola boss and the Cavallone boss might be courting a Cloud together was a drunken rumor no one ever believed, even with proof right in front of their eyes. The reason why Bucking Horse is being targeted doesn't matter. All three families will be dealt with, to the very last member. _That's_ what I am for, Baby." Silver-blue eyes flashed _very_ dangerously. Reborn had never actually felt like he was facing down a predator before, not like this. "The only times I get an approval for a mission of any sort from Sawada Tsunayoshi, it is when an entire famiglia needs to disappear. We've had quite a few such instances since Vongola Decimo took the reins. The streets of Italy were flooded with blood more than once. In any other instance, if I am out in the field, it is because I either got bored and wanted to alleviate said boredom or because I found an interesting mission that may or may not be involved in my own goals and projects. I am quite content, otherwise, to silently run CEDEF and my Foundation, to focus on my research of rings and Boxes and to occasionally spar with the Vongola Guardians, the Varia, Byakuran's Guardians, the Arcobaleno or Bucking Horse himself. I am the aloof Cloud, but I am also possessive and territorial. Someone targeted that which is _mine_. Nothing will be left of them, not even their name, and yet it will be a message, a lesson for the rest of the mafia world."

'Alaudi Kumo's' eyes stopped flashing and he leaned almost lazily back, against the wall, arms crossed over his chest like he was preparing for a nap. "As for the 'binding factor' of Vongola from my time, it is not something so simple. We've had quite a few trials on our hands that we needed to get through to _survive_. It made us stronger, more appreciative of each other, more accepting. And seeing as acceptance is what matters the most, we are just fine." With that, the man from the future closed his eyes and stopped paying attention to reborn, signaling the end of their conversation.

Reborn stayed where he was for a few moments longer before sighing and turning to leave, closing the door behind himself.

"You should just lie down and sleep comfortably, you grumpy Skylark."


	6. Chapter 6

Sunday dawned as a tense affair, Tsuna trying too hard to think of a way to distract Dino-san for the day while he also took note that Reborn looked rather pensive for some reason and didn't even try to steal either Tsuna's or the blond's food at breakfast to teach them some ridiculous lesson or something. Dino-san, of course, noticed, but neither of the hitman's students were masochistic enough to invite such 'lessons' upon themselves if they can help it.

Everyone seemed to notice the tense air in the room, except maybe Lambo, but he was shameless regardless of the situation. Tsuna was just glad that Kumo-san seems to have taken off early that morning as well, though his mother was gushing about how polite and gentlemanly the man was, which meant he had left later than yesterday and had actually indulged the woman in breakfast. The young Vongola wasn't sure if he'd feel comfortable with having breakfast in the same house as the terrifying Kumo-san and he didn't want to think about the man from the future coming down to 'discipline' them all for the noise Lambo and I-Pin were making as the little cow stole or hogged food left and right and the Chinese girl tried to stop him.

Also, Kumo-san had made it very clear that he didn't want Dino-san to know he was involved, so if he accidentally revealed himself to the Cavallone boss, he might take out his anger and frustration on Tsuna and the others like Friday night for disturbing his sleep. And this time, it's quite possible older Lambo won't somehow get involved and save them with more Cloud ring offerings.

"Ah, that was delicious as always. Thank you for the meal, Mama, but I have to get going now." Dino-san's words broke Tsuna out of his musings and he looked up, almost panicking when he saw his self-proclaimed older brother getting up to leave.

"Eh, already? Where might you be going so early in the morning, Dino-kun?" Sawada Nana asked in intrigue, already walking over to pick up the dirty dishes. "It's still only Sunday, you know. I thought everyone had at least Sundays off, but maybe things are different in Italy?"

"Haha, no, you're right, but you see, I have a cute little student of mine to visit before he gets impatient and comes to hunt me down. If I don't go to find him now, he might just bite me to death on principle for not seeing him sooner," Dino-san said while rubbing the back of his neck in the usual Japanese sheepish or nervous manner and Tsuna sympathized with him. Hibari-san was not the type of person to keep waiting. He rather doubted that the prefect would take lightly to being visited only _now_ since Dino-san's been in Namimori for two whole days now and was going to see him only on the third day of his week long visit. "He'll get angry if he learns I'm only visiting him two days after I came to Namimori, since he likes our spars so much and all." Tsuna sweat dropped at the accuracy of his own thoughts and wondered if it was thanks to that which Reborn had called 'Vongola Hyper Intuition'.

Any further conversation was halted when the sound of an incoming rung from someone's cell phone and Tsuna's eyes nearly bulged out of his head when he saw Reborn extend a hand for Leon, who turned into a pretty fancy phone and allowed the infant to read the message. He watched in both fascination and dread as Reborn's mood seemed to lift considerably, an amused smile spreading on his lips, making Tsuna and Dino-san shiver at the thought of the devil training he might have in mind.

"Oh, don't overreact, you no-good wimps," the fedora-wearing baby told them, Leon transforming from a phone to a mallet that Rebornthen used on both of his students, making them crash to the floor and twitch in pain. "I have great news. An old friend of mine that I respect very much has just invited me for drinks in an upscale nightclub on the South end of Namimori and I have a standing, open invitation to bring as many guests as I like. This would be a good opportunity for you to see the places mafioso like to frequent, Tsuna, and Dino, you could use some mafia publicity by showing your face to some of these things from time to time, you know. No excuses," he cut in before either of the young bosses could protest. "We'll be extending the invitation to your guardians, Tsuna, so run off to tell them like your life depends on it."

Tsuna stared wide eyed and tried to scramble away when Leon transformed for the third time, into Reborn's standard gun this time, but he had no hopes of getting away from the Deathperation Bullet and a few seconds later he found himself in his boxers again, yelling "REBORN!" grabbing a stunned Dino-san before bolting out of the house to find his Guardians - sans Hibari-san, because he was neither stupid nor suicidal, thank you. Dino-san is to be kept away from Hibari-san until Kumo-san deals with the assassination squad intent on killing the Cavallone boss and he was sure Kumo-san would actually kill him, whether that might ruin the future or not, if he messes up the Cloud's mission. Besides, even if Kumo-san doesn't kill him, Hibari-san might if he even _suggests_ that the Disciplinary Committee Chairman join them - a crowd - to a nightclub _crowded_ with lots and lots of people.

Also, he was not so sadistic as to unleash Hibari-san, who was bound to get irate, on the poor patrons of the club or the club itself.

That just begged for assassination attempts on _his own life_ , as well as huge bills to pay for the inevitable repairs a Hibari Kyoya visit to the nightclub would doubtlessly require and unlike Dino-san, Tsuna wasn't rich, nor was he sure the money his father sent to them could cover such expenses, at least not without leaving them hungry for a month.

Though he wondered if he should simply send the bill to Hibari-san, but he wasn't masochistic nor was he stupid enough to think _anyone_ would dare actually take the bill to the prefect.

Sometimes, he wished Hibari-san was the Vongola heir, so that the mafia world could be intimidated into leaving Namimori the hell alone and Tsuna could go back to his old life, though he'd rather like to keep the friends he's made if at all possible.

"Tsuna! Slow down! There's a brick wall up front!" Dino-san yelled helplessly from where he was being carried like a sack of potatoes over Tsuna's shoulder, but the brunet only sped up and broke head-first through said brick wall. Later, when the Deathperation Bullet's effects will wear off, he'll be eternally grateful that it hadn't been Nami-chuu's wall fence because, no matter where he might hide or where Hibari-san might be at that moment, the Cloud Guardian would know and hunt him down to bite him to death.

Really, Tsuna didn't remember half of the trip, he only remembered finding Yamamoto trailing behind an irate Gokudera-kun, flinging them both over each shoulder - on top of Dino-san, no less, who complained about how he was going to bring back up the delicious breakfast he's just had - and continuing on his way, dragging Ryohei by the hand when he passed the boxer. He even passed Kyoko-chan and Haru, picking the two girls up into a princess carry while he shifted Ryohei-oniisan's captured hand under his armpit before continuing his race, going straight back home. Somehow, he even managed to get all the way back to his living room before the Bullet's effects wore off and he collapsed, crushed under the combined weight of his friends.

"Way to go, Sawada! That was so EXTREME!"

"Juudaime, are you alright?!"

"Ah, Tsuna-san is so strong! Haru is blushing~!"

"Wow, that was really something, Tsuna-kun."

"Way to go, Tsuna! That was really fun!"

"Urghs, my stomach! Please get off of me, I think I might just barf."

"Guys, you're crushing me!"

"Oi, kora! Get off of me, kora!"

"Way to go, Tsuna. You managed to bring everyone in time, though you could have avoided Colonello," Reborn said as he came to sit in front of the pile of teenagers and one Arcobaleno, sipping on a cup of espresso. The blond baby raged at that while their resident boxer enthusiast helped everyone to their feet. "Now that you're all here, I guess I can officially invite you as my guests for a fun night out at the prestigious mafia club, Midnight Mafioso!"

"No way!" Gokudera-kun immediately exclaimed in excitement and disbelief. "The most famous, most prestigious, most wanted and almost impossible to get into without a four year in advance reservation mafioso club in the world!? As expected of Reborn-san, to have an invitation to such an amazing, expensive place!"

"Actually, I myself was invited by a good friend of mine who's visiting Namimori on a mission." Tsuna saw Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto and Onii-san exchange looks and it occurred to him only then just _who_ Reborn's friend might be. He gulped. Why would Kumo-san invite them to a night club of all places?! Shooting a glance at Dino-san, the brunet wondered if it was a plot to flush out a bigger number of the assassins so that Kumo-san might speed up his progress. Though how he planned to find the assassins in a crowd of other mafioso and hitmen escaped the young Sawada. "We're going tonight. Let's meet up here at eight. Dino can drive us over in his fancy cars and with his bodyguards so we can actually get in. Dress appropriately, everyone, and prepare to have some fun!"

"Wait a second, Reborn! Except Haru, they're all Namimori Middle School's students!" Dino-san protested, wary to keep out of the hitman's immediate range in case of a retaliation for defying the Arcobaleno's words. "And tomorrow's Monday! If they're late or don't show up at all, Kyoya will be displeased and might just hunt us all down to bite us to death!"

"Oh, a nightclub? How exciting!" Nana surprised them all with how happy she sounded. "I haven't been out to a place like that in years! Mind if I tag along, Reborn-kun? It's been really too long. I want to have some fun, too."

"As if I'd ever miss an opportunity to get into Midnight Mafioso," Bianchi said, stepping into the room and causing Gokudera-kun to promptly double over due to his childhood trauma at the sight of her face.

"Have none of you heard what I've just said?" An incredulous Dino-san asked and Tsuna felt sorry for him, because the blond wasn't used to how easily things got out of hand when everyone was together like this.

"Maa, maa, I'm sure it will all turn out alright," Yamamoto reassured with a smile.

The Cavallone boss didn't seem reassured at all, though. "While I was training Kyoya for the Ring Battles, I've seen him _literally_ go way out of his way to hunt down any ditching students, beat them up and drag them to class unless their parents have called the school to notify them that the kids are sick or have some family matters or emergency that can't be put off. Kyoya's not the forgiving or sympathetic kind!"

"Just leave Hibari to me and have some fun tonight, wimpy Dino," Reborn said, Leon once again turning into a mallet and decking the blond over the head enough to turn him into a twitching mess on the floor. He then turned to his fellow Arcobaleno. "Will you be joining us too, Colonello? And how did you even get here?"

"As if I'd ever miss out an opportunity like this, kora! As for your other question, Kyoko had been carrying me when Sawada snatched her and Haru up, kora. I had no choice but to hang on for the ride, kora."

"Sorry about that, Colonello," Tsuna said before turning to Reborn. "But is this really a good idea?" He stole a glance at Dino-san to show what he meant, trusting that Reborn would get the message. "Besides, how can we even get into the club? Aren't clubs for teens over eighteen and higher? I'm pretty sure not even Ryohei-oniisan makes that requirement."

"That's right! I am only EXTREMELY turning sixteen soon!"

"This is the mafia. A baby can get into a mafia nightclub."

 _'Should he really be discussing this so casually in front of people like Kaa-san, Haru and Kyoko-chan?'_ Tsuna couldn't help but wonder, though he wasn't at all surprised by Reborn's answer. Mafia don't exactly abide by the law, anyway, so why would they put restrictions when there had to be lots of rich mafia kids who'd want to have fun in nightclubs if they can afford to get in, right? He despaired at the thought that he was being dragged more and more into this criminal, lawless world by his demonic Spartan-tutor from hell. "Are you going to inform our schools that we can't attend tomorrow?"

"Who knows," the baby hitman casually replied and Tsuna wanted to scream. "Besides, it's not like you lot are going to be staying for the whole night or anything. Dino will be carting you off back home at midnight, tops. I, on the other hand, will be staying to enjoy the chaos and carnage that will ensue."

_'Eh!? Does that mean Kumo-san will be on the move after midnight or is this just the usual mafia way to end a party?! Why am I involved in all of this!? Why can't I have a normal life!?'_

"Because you're to be Vongola X, Tsuna, so work hard to learn more about your new environment." Tsuna started crying crocodile tears and Dino-san, who had already been through the same torture, patted him on the back sympathetically.

Then the brunet blinked, something having occurred to him. "Hold on, what about I-Pin, Lambo and Fuuta? Because there is _no way_ we can take them with us! I-Pin, maybe, because she's a sweet girl and won't cause any trouble, but Lambo's bound to get us all killed! And I rather doubt that other mafia families have given up on getting their hands on Fuuta's rankings, either, so we obviously can't take him!"

"And Fon might actually kill us if we took his student to such a place, so it's best not to take little I-Pin, either, kora," Colonello added, to which Reborn nodded.

"That's true. We obviously need to find them a babysitter, but who?"

"We can do it, boss," volunteered one of Dino-san's men from the kitchen, startling them. "You go have fun with your friends. We can handle the kids for a few hours."

"Thanks, but you better not rope Fuuta into making rankings about the ongoing betting pools you lot have or else I'll tell the guys back home so you're out of the game." The bodyguards all deflated at Dino-san's orders, making everyone look at him in curiosity as to what could have possibly been so interesting - and possibly embarrassing for the Haneuma - to bet on and to have that reaction from the men because they weren't allowed to get any hints. "Eh, it's probably best that you don't know anything about it, because if you blurt it out around Kyoya, we might _all_ get bitten to death."

Well, that was definitely deterrent enough to stop them from prying further. As intriguing as the blush spreading over Dino-san's cheekbones was, an irate Hibari Kyoya was not something any of them wanted to deal with. Especially since they were still mostly recovering from the beating Kumo-san gave them.

"Well, now that babysitters are taken care of, perhaps the lot of you should go shopping today to get the appropriate outfits for the club," Reborn said, making sure to stare into Tsuna's eyes with great intensity and the boy realized Reborn was helping, once again, to keep Dino-san distracted and away from Hibari-san, thus sparing them from Kumo-san's 'disciplining', though he'll probably ask for something outrageous in return, like Tsuna getting a 100% on a math test, which is just impossible, but at this point, Tsuna was willing to take it.

"Reborn, you know I can't! Kyoya-"

"Shut up, Dame-Dino," the 'tutor' cut the blond off, hitting him with the Leon mallet yet again. Tsuna actually wondered if his own 'tutoring' with Reborn was a breeze compared to what Dino-san had had to go through. Reborn seemed far more brutal towards Dino-san, though that might be just these days, since their objective was to keep Dino-san completely uninvolved in this mess with Kumo-san and the assassins from the future. "I already said to leave Hibari to me. Surely he can wait until Monday. It's not like he'd actually let you get away with anything but more fighting, anyway, unlike what you're hoping for."

"Way to encourage me, Reborn," whined Don Cavallone. Tsuna wasn't sure what was going on, but he had a feeling it would be for the best that he didn't try to find out. For both his health and his sanity.

"I'm not trying to. I don't _want_ to. Hibari is the Vongola Guardian of the Cloud Ring and the strongest Guardian, at that. Tsuna's already having trouble Harmonizing with him since Hibari doesn't accept him as strong, so we don't need you complicating matters as another clearly interested and older Sky that he _does_ recognize as strong. Honestly, it's not as if either of you are actually worthy of courting a Cloud like Hibari, since you both require outside aid to fight and he can _still_ land more devastating blows, most of the time, just as he is. It's pathetic and I kind of pity him."

"Just let Haneuma court that tonfa freak, Reborn-san," grumbled Gokudera-kun through his stomach pains, doing his best not to look at Bianchi so he could function semi-normally. "We don't need him."

"Are you forgetting all of you would be dead if not for Hibari?" Reborn asked and Tsuna was under the impression that the Arcobaleno was rather angry for some reason. Colonello, who knew Reborn the best out of the people present, seems to have picked up on it, too. "In the Sky Match, when you were all poisoned, it was _Hibari_ who saved you. Gokudera, then Yamamoto, allowing you two to help Lambo and Chrome. He had an injured leg and he saved himself by his own sheer will power despite the poison being strong enough to keep down grown elephants and then proceeded to fight Belphegor and nearly won if the coward hadn't run, then saved Yamamoto and then even prepared to fight by your side when Xanxus revealed he would have killed you all regardless of the result of the match. Hibari Kyoya is one of the most powerful Clouds I've seen in a very long time and one of the best fighters as well. Tell me again, Gokudera Hayato, how you don't _need_ him."

The Italian teen winced, looking down guiltily. "I apologize, Reborn-san. I spoke out of turn."

Reborn stayed quiet for a while before speaking again. "You may have your differences, but you're all _family_. You share a strong bond. Just because Hibari doesn't show it as much doesn't mean he's ignorant of it or outright dismissing it. He's fought by your side many times at this point. It's in a Cloud's nature to be aloof and alone. I hold great respect for Hibari, despite his young age, and I hope that he will find a place for himself in this family. And I hope this family will find a way to accept Hibari as something more than a dangerous weapon to point at an opponent. But for that, the boss must work hard and so must his subordinates. Clouds are not easy to court."

Tsuna wasn't exactly sure what Reborn was talking about, but it resonated deeply within him. But it also woke a strong feeling of guilt, too. Reborn was right. They _had_ mostly been treating Hibari-san as a weapon to point against their enemies. First when Nami-chuu's students started disappearing and they all thought they should just leave it to Hibari-san to deal with it all by himself, which lead to the situation with Rokudo Mukuro, then against the Varia when Hibari-san didn't give a damn about mafia and Vongola. They had simply bragged that he was their Ace, that he would ensure their victory and while Tsuna had worried about the prefect, he had never once even thought to check up on him or his progress from Dino-san, at the very least.

"We'll do better in the future, Reborn!" Tsuna said with determination, not caring if he was actually committing himself to becoming the boss of Vongola in the future. Hibari-san, just like his friends, had been dragged into the mafia business and world because of _him_ , so he had to take care of Hibari-san in any capacity that the Disciplinary Committee Chairman would allow.

"We'll EXTREMELY include Hibari in our group!"

"That's right! We won't let that tonfa freak push us away!"

"Haha, this is bound to be fun, avoiding being bitten to death. We could even make a game out of it!"

Tsuna smiled as his friends all agreed with him and got all pumped up. A glance at Reborn showed he wanted to be satisfied but that pensive feeling from this morning had also returned and Tsuna wondered if Kumo-san had said something that caused this reaction in the Arcobaleno.

"Well, I wish you all the best of luck," Dino-san said, looking like he really meant it and was pitying them for their choice, but there was a smile on his face when he looked at Tsuna. "Don't worry. I know Kyoya is your Guardian. I won't try to Harmonize with him. I'm pretty sure Kyoya wouldn't even accept me. Take care of your family, Tsuna, though maybe it's still for the best that you don't invite him for tonight," the blond said with a wince. "I'm not sure even _I_ could pay off that bill."

"Make plans for courting our resident Cloud later," Reborn said commandingly. "For now, we have to get you ready for tonight!"

"Shopping!" The girls all yelled, despite only Bianchi having followed through with the conversation that had taken place just now.

Reborn pointed a gun at Tsuna's head. "Shop like you're dying."

Tsuna didn't even try to dodge the Bullet.


	7. Chapter 7

All in all, by the time everyone bought acceptable outfits, got ready and Dino drove them to Midnight Mafioso, Reborn was rather satisfied with the strong, united front they made as they stepped out of the rented limo and got in line to wait for their cue to go in. Even if they had an invitation, the line was long and everyone was thoroughly checked for weapons, sedatives, poisons or any other drugs before they were let in, thus taking a considerable amount of time. Still, the line _was_ moving up at a relatively fast pace, all things considered, and soon they were near the front when a sleek black car pulled up right in front of the entrance of the club.

Everyone stared as 'Alaudi Kumo' stepped out, all feline grace and elegant hidden strength, confidence and power oozing off of him, radiating a subtle hint of _danger_ as he casually straightened out his suit, handed the car keys to a bellboy and strode into the club without bothering with the line. Everyone was a bit too stunned and terrified to try and protest the gorgeous black haired man's actions and soon he was checked over for weaponry, his entrance ticket approved and he was in the club before anyone could even start gushing or grumbling about him. There were more speculative whispers and gushing than there were angry muttering and death threats since even if they didn't know him, the way he held himself made them think 'Alaudi Kumo' must be someone very important and _very_ powerful.

Reborn couldn't help but be amused, especially as Tsuna and his Guardians - sans Hibari and Lambo, who obviously weren't there - gawked while the girls couldn't help but appreciate the good looking man's appearance. Sharp suits really did work for him, didn't they. He could pass as a model as easily as he could a businessman or a mafioso.

They were just lucky that Dino had been distracted with a phone call and wasn't looking when 'Alaudi Kumo' had walked by. Reborn had a suspicion as to why his drinking partner of the night was so adamant that the blond didn't see him, but he can't confirm it until speaking with the man. Tonight promised to be _very_ interesting, though he also had questions about matters that rather bothered him ever since 'Alaudi Kumo' talked about his role in the future.

After everyone regained their bearings from being exposed to someone like that, it took about ten more minutes before their group was admitted into the club. As was to be expected of any nightclub, there was loud, blaring music, flashing lights, dancing and grinding bodies on a dance floor, tables and chairs and even five separate bars to keep up with the alcohol demand. There was even a sushi and a fancy finger sandwich bar on one side of the huge room, as well as 'exotic dancers' in cages, a DJ stand and, for no other reason than appearance, a beautiful black baby piano in the middle of the dance floor on a raised platform. There were, of course, doors leading to private rooms, be it for business or more intimate indulgences of the night, a pool table, a ping pong table and even a separate, sound proofed TV section where guests could watch sports games they had money riding on. If Reborn remembered correctly from the last time he was here, there was another section of the club that functioned like a casino with its own bar and he would have immediately set off in that direction to search for his drinking buddy of the night had he not caught how people kept glancing in the direction of the main bar.

Reborn understood why immediately, as sharp silver-blue eyes met his, a brow lifted in invitation from behind a raised glass of some strong liquor before those same eyes swept over the rest of the group, rested on the golden haired Cavallone boss and then continued sweeping the room. That particular bar seemed to have a great view point over the rest of the room and, more importantly, the crowded dance floor.

The World's Greatest Hitman spent a couple of minutes on briefing his companions about what the club had to offer, how to act and how not to act before bidding them adieu and making his way over to the man that was effortlessly drawing all eyes to him tonight. How Dino hadn't noticed him yet, Reborn could only attribute to the idiot's lovesickness for a certain Skylark. Which was just sad and ironic.

"Ciaossu," Reborn greeted, jumping up onto the stool obviously saved for him and raised an eyebrow at the waiting drink. Scotch on the rocks, with a _straw_.

The Cloud smirked. "I told you the wait must have almost killed you the first time around," he fairly purred, heard even over the music despite not raising his voice. "You try to drag me into a high end bar whenever you get the chance. Well, the future you, anyway. Sawada Tsunayoshi and your fellow Arcobaleno exasperate you quite a bit where I'm coming from."

"Good to know I have _some_ company to get away from that." He completely believed the other, as not even his fellow Arcobaleno, Nono, Iemitsu or even Dino knew that, even before he became an Arcobaleno, he preferred to drink his scotch with a straw.

"Hm, you usually get that tone only when you are deeply displeased. It doesn't happen all that often, which makes me curious," the black haired man narrowed his sharp eyes on the 'baby'. "What could have possibly pissed you off this much since we last spoke?"

"What we spoke about, actually."

'Alaudi Kumo' immediately rolled his eyes, as though he were expecting it. "You cannot tell me that you grew angry on my behalf because of what Sawada Iemitsu tried to pull."

"It's more like how they _all_ seem to be treating you," Reborn said with true anger, his voice frigid cold. He'd grown fond of his student and his Guardians, each for their own qualities. If he might express that fondness more openly for some than the others, that's because they'd done something to earn his respect or he saw a glimmer of his own younger self in them. The man before him was a mix of both. "You are not a weapon to be sent on suicide missions, to face whole families all on your own just because you're strong enough to do it. You may be a Cloud, but you're still _family_ and should be treated as such. Have I failed as a tutor that neither Tsuna nor any of his Guardians realize this? That _Dino_ doesn't protest the way they treat you? How didn't Xanxus pull you to him if he can see how they're risking you? Because I know damn well that not even the commanders of Varia take on missions like that alone, let alone in a time when such dangerous weapons are spread out all around for everyone to use as they please, if they can afford to purchase it. Xanxus seemed rather pleased with your younger self when you two first met. People like him get possessive. How could he allow Vongola to just throw you away like that?! How could _Tsuna_ change so much to let it happen!? Have I actually misjudged them all? And you mentioned Fon ... No way Fon approves of all of this ... "

Gray eyes watched him, seeming apathetic and Reborn knew his reaction was being taken apart so every meaning hidden between the lines can be properly deciphered. It's what he usually did to people and he could somewhat understand why most found it unsettling. Perhaps it's the sharpness of the other's eyes or even the sharpness _in_ there, too, that made it so unsettling. Reborn had never tried to look at himself in the mirror with such a gaze, so he wasn't sure if it was the same.

Again, he felt like he was facing a true predator, but this time he felt vulnerable.

The last time he had ever opened himself up enough to react so genuinely - but when it wasn't anger involved - in front of someone, it had been to the Arcobaleno with the Orange Pacifier. Not that he could have actually ever hidden anything from _her_ , but she had been relentless in burrowing her way into his closed off, black little heart. He felt like he'd grown soft since then. He _must_ have. How _else_ could Dino, Tsuna and everyone else become so dear to him? Hell, over the years, even his fellow Arcobaleno became somewhat endearing, even if most of them still annoyed the hell out of him most of the time.

"Did you know," 'Alaudi Kumo' began, distracting Reborn from his spiraling thoughts and bringing his attention back to the Cloud. "That when I took that first mission, it was by accident? I was simply meant to oversee two rival families, one of which was a Vongola ally, make peace after generations of bloodshed. What Sawada Tsunayoshi was thinking in sending _me_ of all people to oversee a _peace meeting_ , not even he himself knows. It might have been the Vongola Hyper Intuition at work, though he swore up and down that he never got the usual 'feeling' that apparently goes with it whenever it strikes. Anyway, it turned out to be a good move, because an alliance had already been made in secret between the previously rival famiglia in an attempt to take Vongola down and kill Sawada Tsunayoshi and his Guardians. That night, they were expecting a bigger escort for the 'peace treaty', perhaps even Vongola Decimo himself. Instead, they got just me. They, of course, underestimated me, because while I may be _strong_ , it was three hundred to one, maybe even more. I came back to HQ bathed in blood. They spent two months fretting over me non stop until I completely fell off the radar out of annoyance and returned only to find more fretting because I had, in three months, taken down two more enemy famiglia all by myself. My name spread, my reputation became bloody. One time, I came back to the Vongola mansion with three swords sticking out of my back, half of my left leg covered in burns and on the verge of severe blood loss. It took Sasagawa Ryohei, Lussuria of Varia and three other strong Sun Flames users to keep me from meeting the Shinigami. Sawada Tsunayoshi forbade me from going out on such ventures ever again, alone or otherwise."

Reborn felt his eyebrows shoot all the way up beneath his fedora and he just _knew_ Leon's eyes must have bulged. "Tsuna _what_?"

Pale, thin lips pulled up in a wry smirk. "He even locked me up in a Box Weapon training room, the one they built for group training that can withstand even the full might of all seven Arcobaleno. He tried to joke he was 'grounding' me, as if I were a child that had made a boo boo and needed a time out. I broke out, of course."

"Of course," Reborn agreed, never having doubted it for a second. "But to do something stupid like that ... To try and _restrain_ a Cloud, _ground_ a cloud ... Damn, maybe I need to increase Tsuna's awareness of the nature of his Elements so he doesn't make a mistake like that."

"Xanxus agreed to it, you know," 'Alaudi Kumo' continued, apparently amused by Reborn's grumbling. "Like you said, he grew possessive of me easily. He loved when I visited the Varia Mansion for sparring sessions, since I'm actually one of the rare few people who can give him a good fight and who actually _isn't_ intimidated by him one bit, no matter what. Also, his Box Weapon liger, Bester, likes me and the rest of the Varia try to behave when I'm around. They also cook the meat better, since they don't want out combined ire directed at them. Needless to say, you can even say that he's 'fond' of me, in his own Monkey King way. So when he heard how close I was to death, he forbade me from going on such missions, though the key word in _his_ attempt to stop me was 'alone'. He wanted me to have someone from Varia as backup, not trusting 'that weak Vongola trash' to be anything more than a hindrance I'd have to worry about. He's the one who chased me down personally every time I escaped from whatever new form of confinement Sawada Tsunayoshi could think of."

"They're both morons," Reborn cursed vehemently, actually downing his drink in one go before ordering another one. It was promptly delivered, despite there being other patrons already waiting for their orders. The barman obviously had a keen eye for whom he can and whom he shouldn't piss off if he wanted to survive the night.

"It was, in the end, only thanks to Dino that I actually stayed with Vongola at all," the black haired man said, sounding between amused and frustrated. "I am a Cloud, so I kept finding ways to escape. I would travel, I would stumble upon either people with a vendetta against Vongola or against me personally, sometimes against Cavallone or the Varia - and then there was that one fool who thought that if he could kill me, he could get back at Fon for some stupid reason I didn't bother to listen to, let alone remember - I would deal with them. Occasionally, Byakuran, who was enjoying the chaos, would point me in the direction of strong opponents for me to fight and would even go out of his way to come and watch the massacre. The Vongola, of course, chased after me. So did the Varia. Cavallone never made a move. Byakuran would sometimes give them a hint as to my movements, other times he would send them in the completely opposite direction, depending on his mood. It lasted about five months."

'Alaudi Kumo' sighed, finished his drink and ordered a glass of water, as if already preparing to sober up from what little he had drank. Reborn wasn't even surprised. He knew why the other was here tonight, why the invitation had been extended so that Dino would be here, too. The other was on the hunt tonight, after all. Reborn wondered how many have been taken out since the last 'report' given to the older Lambo.

"It all came to a head when, one time, they interfered during one such raid against an enemy famiglia that kept stealing children from Vongola's territory and that ended in disaster. I took out the famiglia, of course, but I came out with severe injuries. I am ashamed to say I was exhausted, to the point that I actually fell into a coma-like state so that my body may recover properly. I was only turning twenty, still a bit rash, easy to anger. I woke from the coma two weeks later, but those imbeciles decided that the best course of action was to keep me under for a month and not tell anyone, not even Fon or Tetsu or Bucking Horse, that I was back, that I was hospitalized and in a drugged sleep. Cavallone found out. I'm not sure if it was you who told him or if it was Byakuran or if it was Mukuro Rokudo, but the word got to him and he came and he made them realize that if they kept trying to restrain me, they might just drive me mad or make me turn on them. He said a Sky should be understanding and accepting of his Cloud's particularities, especially of _my_ particularities. I hate to admit it, but that Bucking Horse might just be someone who knows and understands me best. He made them understand. And so, Sawada Tsunayoshi and I came to a compromise. I would be allowed to go on any such missions _if_ I sent some form of notice to him beforehand. It didn't matter if it was moments before I started fighting, he wanted to know. He also gave me a week-long ultimatum after the beginning of such missions. If I didn't report to someone that I was still alive, Vongola would come rushing in. Things changed a bit since then, especially since I took over the management of CEDEF, but the agreement still stands."

The sharply dressed man from the future turned around to study the room again, whirling the ice in his water with small movements of his wrist. "In short, baby, you shouldn't be angry with them. I have created the role I play myself. You can only blame them for misunderstanding how to deal with that role in their youth until someone enlightened them. Sawada Tsunayoshi, the Monkey King, Marshmallow-head and Bucking Horse have all been treating me correctly to the best of their abilities. I know you are fond of me, as you are fond of your students, so this must have been quite a conflict on your part. Worry not about us. The Vongola is strong."

Reborn would have once denied the worry and the fondness, but he figured there was no point lying to someone who was his drinking companion. Reborn never had a lot of those. He had comrades, he has the Arcobaleno, he even had friends, but he drank with very few of them. So he just smiled in a pleased manner at the man and took another sip from his second drink. "I guess that's a relief. Though I'll be sure to teach those no-good wimps more about how to treat their Elements. That's extremely important for a healthy Harmonization, after all."

His companion chuckled. "I think I remember Bucking Horse and the little animal reminiscing about some 'Flame lessons from hell' that one time they got drunk when hosting the Cow's twelfth birthday party. They were too intoxicated for me to make any sense of their words and your future self refused to share the story. I think I finally understand now." The smirk that followed his words was downright wicked. "I'll be sure to get the details this time when I ask."

"Get me into the Midnight Mafioso and buy me a drink again and it's a deal."

'Alaudi Kumo' gave him another smirk, this one in agreement as they clicked their glasses together in a toast before he got up gracefully, put down his half empty glass of water and rolled his shoulders. "Perhaps you should join the herbivores, baby. Cinderella's about to find that her glass slipper is full of thorns."

"The dance floor is packed and I rather doubt the others have the sense to pick up on random mafioso being murdered in a loud place like this. Though you probably already know Gokudera has a sharp nose and Dino has experience in places like this, so they might become aware of a commotion."

Reborn heard him snort but 'Alaudi Kumo' made no reply. Reborn also made no move to join the group he'd come in with, instead staying at the bar.

After all, the show was about to begin and this seat had the best view in the club.

He didn't want to miss a second of it.


	8. Chapter 8

It wasn't often that Dino could take a vacation, even less so for a whole week in another country, _especially_ in Japan on the other half of the globe from home. Which is why he usually cherished every second of it and he tried to treasure every memory he made. (Un)fortunately, this time he somehow ended up going clubbing one night and was drinking enough that he began fearing he might be a bit more than tipsy and the other night was a blank to him due to something hitting his head and knocking him out during Tsuna's slumber party.

But he was sulking a bit, okay? So he was obviously allowed a drink or two! After all, he had explicitly come to Japan this time, not because he _had_ to like the time with the preparations for the Battles for the Rings, but because he could and _wanted_ to. Because he _wanted to visit Kyoya_ , his (un)cute little student whom he'd become quite fond of and who he couldn't stop thinking about. Really, spending about ten days constantly in each other's presence, practically living together for seven of those during their 'on the road' training, learning so much of the cold, 'emotionless' prefect and then suddenly just cutting off the forming bond was driving him _crazy_.

Of course, unlike how Reborn might fear, it wasn't a Harmonization bond, but rather something a bit more personal and not at all mafia related.

Simply put, Dino enjoyed Hibari Kyoya's company and he was almost sure the feeling was reciprocated to an extent.

Now, if only he could keep the slight attraction he felt for the other out of that before it all became some messy business, he would be perfectly content, except about three weeks since last seeing the Disciplinary Committee Chairman, it dawned on the Cavallone boss that he might be _in love_ with his student. It was sudden, while he had been working through a torturous pile of paperwork regarding that month's activities and finances, when it hit him that the grey, cloudy sky that day reminded him of Kyoya's beautiful eyes and he found himself thinking how he wished he could gaze into them at that moment.

There was a brief stage of denial, especially as that realization brought about some ... _troublesome_ dreams that night, but Dino wasn't one to lie to himself and soon he found himself admitting that he definitely _liked_ his student a bit more than he should a middle school boy.

However, he then found some time free after finishing almost all of his work for the month and he realized he longed to jump on a plane, go to Japan and just spend some time with the new Vongola Cloud Guardian. It didn't matter that the first greeting he would get from Kyoya would be an attempted tonfa to the face, successful or otherwise. He just wanted to speak with the other, maybe treat him to a hamburger steak, maybe spar on the rooftop of Nami-chuu until they both collapsed. Anything really.

And so he bought a ticket for the first flight to Japan and he rushed to Namimori to see his student.

Only to find that he could not get a single moment with the ever busy prefect, what with his lil bro obviously having missed him and Reborn insisting they do crazy things together, probably as a bonding exercise for the Guardians and for the two young bosses that will one day be official allies. He'd tried calling Kyoya, of course, to at least ensure a meeting on Monday at lunch, but Kyoya had not answered. That was nothing new, really, but it actually bothered him quite a lot this time.

So, yes, Dino sulked and in his sulking, he indulged in a few drinks more than he usually would.

It's what he would blame as the reason for him suddenly thinking he had seen none other than the hater of crowding Hibari Kyoya down on the dance floor and why he had rushed down there without so much as a word of warning to his companions or his men. Not that Tsuna or any of his Guardians would have noticed, anyway. The girls had managed to draw Tsuna - and a protesting Gokudera, who refused to leave his Juudaime's side in such a dangerous place - to the dance floor while Yamamoto had found his way to the pool table and seemed to be having fun with some yakuza and american gang members, even going as far as betting on their game. If Dino was just a touch more sober, he would have been worried for that boxer fellow, since some Frenchman had handed him some pretty strong alcohol and the middle schooler was looking quite flushed from it, but at least the Frenchman seemed to be looking more for a drinking buddy who was into sports than actually trying to harm some poor unsuspecting kid. Well, Dino sure as hell _hoped_ so, or else Kyoya might just bite him to death for getting one of Namimori Middle's students hurt. Mama, at least, seemed to have found some lady friends at the bar whom she was happily speaking with and Poison Scorpion Bianchi seems to have found an old acquaintance of hers near the Sawada mother so she can keep an eye on the innocent woman in case someone tries something shady.

Dino had no idea where Reborn or Colonello might have gotten off to, but he wasn't worried about the Arcobaleno. Those two would know how to take care of themselves.

Besides, he had no time to worry about that! His slightly drunk mind was more focused on finding Kyoya in the crowd!

He was sure he had gotten a glimpse of his student and that it wasn't just his wistful thinking. He'd recognize Kyoya no matter what, no matter where. Kyoya wasn't exactly the type of person you can easily overlook. Everything about him screamed danger and predator - _carnivore_ , as the prefect liked to say - and only someone who had no instinct whatsoever for self preservation or survival could ignore that teen's presence. He wasn't sure how Kyoya could have gotten inside the Midnight Mafioso, but the club _was_ in Namimori, and Hibari Kyoya held Namimori on a tight leash better than the most experienced and territorial mafia bosses in the world. It wouldn't surprise him at all if the owner of the bar was smart enough to not try to deny the prefect entry. Doing so would only cost him a considerable amount of money after Kyoya was done with the club.

If he survived getting bitten to death at all, that is. And if the Chairman doesn't simply chase him out of town.

Pushing such useless thoughts aside, Dino entered the crowd busy raving on the dance floor, occasionally having to extract himself from clingy females and a few guys who tried to entice him to dance with them, some of them downright indecent in their attempts. But where Kyoya was concerned, Dino's mind registered very little else, besides his men and his comrades. He practically didn't even notice most of them unless they physically grabbed onto him. He pushed through the dancing and grinding bodies, trying to find even a glimpse of that black jacket with the red and gold armband or just a silver flash of deadly tonfa, but it was no use.

He realized it was around midnight when some random man was thrown his way, quite beaten up, which meant that the traditional brawl of a mafioso club was about to begin. That thought made him frown and remember that he wasn't alone here. He'd come with a bunch of kids and three civilians, none of whom had any idea of how mafia parties could turn out to be. Besides, he'd prefer it if they actually went to school tomorrow instead of ditching. It would definitely mean a less irate Kyoya, if nothing else, and it was actually a pretty good idea to pack everyone up and take them home _now_ before things got ugly and bloody.

The second man that fell in front of his feet, nearly tripping him in the process, solidified his resolve.

It was harder getting _off_ of the dance floor than making his way into the crowd there. Luckily, he ran into Tsuna and the others, Gokudera already having his dynamite sticks out as three more men were lying at their feet, Haru and Kyoko looking a bit disturbed. "Tsuna!" The blond whip user called out as he reached them, trying to be heard over the loud, thumping beat. "This way! Things are about to get chaotic in here! We need to get out of here!"

"What!? Dino-san!? What's going on!? Why is there a fight in the middle of the club!?" The short brunet yelled even as he and his friends made their way through the crowd with Dino, doing their best to avoid the men being thrown around willy nilly due to the ongoing brawl.

"I'll explain later, but for now we need to get everyone and leave! Sorry to say this, but the party's over!"

They definitely started rounding up everyone on time, because just as they managed to pry Sasagawa away from his clingy Frenchman friend and Bianchi brought Mama over, the brawl broke out into full swing. Glasses and bottles were being thrown about, weapons were out, a gun could be heard firing here or there and knives started flashing in the club lights. Dino and his men managed to get everyone out just as someone actually took out a mini bazooka and fired. Dino didn't bother with Reborn and Colonello. Those two would be okay and were bound to have joined in on the fun.

The Vongola and Cavallone weren't the only ones to run out for their lives, some people nearly trampling them with high heels and polished leather shoes. Some even started wrestling during the escape, nearly tripping everyone else up. Yamamoto had to keep Sasagawa from joining in on the fighting while Tsuna did his best to stop Gokudera from simply blowing everyone up. Getting into their limo without someone else jumping in with them was an adventure all of its own and Ivan, who was the driver for the night, had quite a challenge in front of him for a few streets since some idiot had jumped onto the hood and clung as if his life depended on it.

"I don't think I ever want to go to a place like that again," Tsuna said when they finally got rid of their unwanted passenger, sounding shaken.

"Ah, I wished we could have stayed for the fireworks," Mama lamented and Dino laughed a bit nervously when the other two civilians nodded in agreement.

"That kid sure has some interesting friends if he got us into such a fun party!" Their resident baseball player said with a laugh and Dino wondered if Vongola was safe in these people's hands, because they were, without a doubt, to the very last one, all completely insane.

"I hope Reborn-san and Colonello will be alright. That was quite the fight that broke out, right, Juudaime?"

"I'm sure they're fine," Dino reassured, knowing it would _not_ be a good idea to try to return for the Arcobaleno.

 _Especially_ if they were having fun.

00000

And they were.

Colonello had chosen a group of cocky Albanians for himself after he had taken down a Turkish drug smuggling group and Reborn was having fun with shooting down a Colombian cartel and a Mexican human trafficking group and they were having quite a good time, but the one who was actually having the most fun was one 'Alaudi Kumo'.

The black haired time traveler had quickly found his prey in the crowd - a whole ten of them! Lucky~ - and had dealt with them in under five minutes. He even had quite a bit of time to extract some information from the weaklings before he ended their suffering, finding out that fifty men had made it through the time portal that he hadn't seen, making the final count of sixty men.

Which means about forty more herbivores to go before this mission is a success and Bucking Horse is no longer endangered. At least for the time being.

It had been fun fighting the assassins because they had Box Weapons, but he always preferred physical combat with no assisting factors, so when the brawl started a few minutes after he got the meeting location of one of the smaller teams and the time, he found quite a few people trying to rush him. The idiots were swiftly disciplined, but then more useless herbivores lined up to be bitten to death. He sometimes really didn't understand how idiotic people could be. Blame it on the drinks all you want, but these people were experienced mafioso and they had just witnessed him take down a considerable number of their ilk. They should know better than to run straight at him as though that tactic will suddenly work after proving fruitless the last dozen or so times.

Still, if they just kept coming, it meant he could keep on fighting and it's so rare these days for him to enjoy battles of pure strength and skill, with no rings, Flames or Box Weapons involved. He might have gotten a bit giddy and went overboard. His usual sparring partners/enemy opponents had no hope of keeping up with him if they didn't rely on Flames and the Boxes. He, on the other hand, enjoyed it immensely. Honestly, there were only a rare few who could provide him with a good fight in his own time without the use of the gadgets of their time. Reborn, Fon, Lal Mirch and Colonello of the Arcobaleno; perhaps the Vongola Sun and Rain Guardians, if they worked together. Some days, Lussuria and Squalo, too. Xanxus, obviously, and, of course, his dear idiotic Bucking Horse. (Maybe Byakuran, too, some days, but he avoided him on principle because the white haired man was incredibly annoying throughout the spar. The Vongola Mist Guardian was out of the question, too, if the Vongola wanted their Guardian back. They were both just too way violent and had no intention of being less so towards each other just because they were 'allies'. Not when only each other could provide a good challenge in a fight for the other, though Decimo could be fun if it's a Flame battle. Otherwise, he was just as herbivorous as the rest.) The rest all relied far too heavily on their new little toys instead of cultivating basic self defense at the very least. Or were middle to long range fighters that just annoyed him because they kept thinking if they just throw or shoot things at him, that will be enough to take him down. Idiots. And even after _all_ these years, they were always surprised when he ended up in their face, steel glinting ominously, mercilessly.

Honestly, what was it with people forgetting he was a _Cloud_ lately? An aloof, lone Cloud who protects the family from his own private point of view. Ever drifting, ever unbound, fighting the enemies from the outside. _Alone_. Which translates to him rarely, if ever, having someone to fall back on, which means he has to be versed in fighting all types of opponents on his own. Such was the fate of a Cloud, especially one such as himself who _really_ hated crowding and his fellow Elements were all very loud and some of them could even be rather clingy. Or both. Just the _thought_ of that almost made him shudder.

Sometimes, he honestly wondered why he had allowed himself to get so involved with such clearly insane people before remembering that he himself wasn't exactly the definition of sanity, either. Birds of a feather and all, it would seem. Not that he actually _minded_ overly much, since they knew better than to crowd around him ... _most_ of the time.

There was a _reason_ the Baby took him into high end bars for a drink instead of indulging in Vongola Mansion's own private bar with it's marvelous selection of very expensive liquor. Mostly because when _those herbivores_ got drunk, they tried to cling to the Cloud. And that usually ended in severe property damage and plenty of blunt trauma injuries, though sometimes - like if that Pineapplehead was around or if the Marshmallow-addict came for a visit - the Mansion and the Vongola Tenth Generation and their allies found themselves full of holes like Swiss cheese and then need intense Sun Flames healing.

The Baby never helped out because he was always cross with them for chasing off his drinking partner.

The Cloud rather liked his drinking companion. Reborn obviously had some refined tastes.

The time traveler nearly pouted when he realized that, between himself and the two Arcobaleno, there were almost no more opponents to fight. Perhaps he was truly expecting too much of this era. One must be strong to use a Box, after all. Boxes were expensive and required a lot of strength, mental and physical. Not all that many people actually reached the criteria required to use one. Especially after the shitshow the Gesso Famiglia made some years ago. Byakuran was one messed up marshmallow, but they still somehow ended up allies with both the Gesso Family and the Giglio Nero Family, though the latter was more due to Reborn than Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Honestly, the mafia world was full of herbivores that herd together with only a few carnivores and omnivores sprinkled in there for variety's sake.

He should have just stuck to his Namimori and the idiots who'd dare to disturb the discipline.

At least, that way, enemies wouldn't suddenly become allies left and right.

Curse Decimo and his strange brand of luck.

And curse that Baby, too.

And Bucking Horse, just because.

Just as he thought that the fight was finally over and he'd have to go continue his hunt out on the streets, the doors and any other newly created entrances - read holes in the walls and ceiling - were suddenly filled with another twenty to thirty men and women, all of them wearing some sort of generic clothing that might represent something like a uniform and they all had weapons - _Box Weapons_ at that - in their hands, unerringly aimed at the Cloud, the two Arcobaleno and the two other random patrons still left standing.

"That's ... That's not possible!" One of the assassins from his own time cried out, shrinking back as he recognized the man that had tore through their base as if it were made of sheets of rice paper. "There's no way! How could you have followed us!?"

"Oi, Reborn! What's going on, kora?" He heard the blond Arcobaleno ask of the fedora wearing one, but he paid them no mind as he allowed his lips to form a lethally sensual smirk.

"Wao, it seems I get to bite more people to death tonight after all."

He gave chase when they tried to flee from him, tonfa in hands, lit with violet Cloud Flames.

He didn't need the Arcobaleno seeing the battles of the future.

Their time for Box Weapons will come on its own.


	9. Chapter 9

Monday morning was a nightmare for Tsuna and his friends, because none of them had gotten enough sleep since their adrenaline was still pumping through their veins after the unique clubbing experience from the previous night. Even by the time Dino-san dropped them all off to their homes - which for Tsuna, as the boss, was sometime around one in the morning - they were all too hyped up to fall asleep until the wee hours of dawn. Honestly, to the future Vongola boss, it felt as though he'd only just fallen asleep when his alarm rang for school. He was almost tempted to take up Reborn on letting the baby hitman deal with Hibari-san and just go back to bed, but no one had seen the prefect since last Thursday so he was kind of worried.

Also, if Hibari-san ever actually learned as to _why_ they had all collectively ditched school that day, he'd surely bite them all to death, including Dino-san and maybe even Reborn! Tsuna didn't want to get bitten to death! He was too young! He hadn't even confessed to Kyoko-chan yet! Not that he necessarily _would_ , but that's not the point.

The morning felt really weird once he managed to get out of bed. Bianchi was still asleep when he trudged down for breakfast, his Kaa-san was not as energetic as he's used to, since apparently she, too, had had trouble shaking off the excitement of the night to go to sleep and Reborn looked pensive again, but at least Colnello was around - which was also weird - and was somehow managing to keep Lambo in line.

Though, apparently, that was achieved through threatening the cow child with Kumo-san.

That thought actually made Tsuna pause as he munched on some toast. They'd all gotten a glimpse of Kumo-san last night - he'd been really hard to miss with an entrance like _that_ , even if the man himself didn't seem to think of it as a big deal. Reborn even disappeared to have a drink with the man from the future and yet while he seemed in a considerably better mood than yesterday, he didn't look exactly happy, either. It's what made the youngest Sawada ask.

"Ne, Reborn, where is Kumo-san? Did you guys make it safely back home last night?" Reborn and Colonello had, after all, not been part of Dino-san's dash to get them all out before the real 'party' started.

His question, if possible, darkened Reborn's mood further.

Colonello answered for him. "We got separated when the maggots started running away, kora. Thirty of them, Cavallone's would be assassins, kora. We waited for that guy to come back after he dealt with them, but he never showed up. The velvet still had his car keys when Reborn asked for his slip number, kora. We hoped he would have returned here, but as you can see, he didn't, kora. Reborn's being a crybaby and missing his mama, kora."

Tsuna got really worried when Reborn didn't try to shoot back any insults or kill Colonello for talking to him like that. The narrowing of sky blue eyes told him the blond Arcobaleno shared his worry. "I'm sure he just found the rest of the assassins and was hunting them down. This is Kumo-san we're talking about! I'm sure everything is just fine."

"He said he'd be coming straight back here once he finished them off," the baby with the Yellow Pacifier said through what sounded to be grit teeth. "They all had Box Weapons, Tsuna, and we're not exactly versed well enough in them to know if the combatants are strong or not. Either way, he should have come back by now. He had new information that he should have delivered to the future Lambo so he'd know how long he can stay."

As if summoned just by that, the kid Lambo was suddenly replaced with his ten-years-later version, looking nervous already, dressed in a fine suit and with a bundle of papers and a box - one similar to the one he'd brought rings for Kumo-san the last time in - in his hands. His eyes seemed far more alert than they usually were and they were scanning the room for the recipient of his report.

He blinked in something like confusion when all he found was two Arcobaleno, I-Pin, Fuuta and Tsuna. "Young Vongola, everyone. I was kind of expecting a different setting for this meeting. Could you point me in Kumo-sama's direction?" When Reborn's face darkened, Lambo's did, too. "Did he go out on a dangerous mission all by himself again? Why am I even asking, of course he did. Boss will be having a conniption about this once he hears about it, but this might actually be for the best, regarding this meeting."

"What do you have to report?" The World's Greatest Hitman demanded and the Lightning Vongola Guardian immediately complied, handing over the stack of papers with a surprisingly firm instruction that they were 'for Kumo-sama's eyes only'.

"We managed to get some security footage from the remains of the enemy base," Lambo paused, shooting Nana a glance but she seemed to be absorbed in fretting over the malfunctioning rice cooker to notice anything strange going on, so he continued. "We now know the exact number of people who went through and we managed to extract the data on how much Fiamma Voltage - the amount of Flames - was used for the trip. Irie-san and Spanner-san calculated that Kumo-sama would definitely be staying for the duration of the seven days, which is the machine's maximum capacity for a single trip. Which could turn out to be rather troublesome if he were to run out of rings if he has to hunt the assassins down one by one. Which is why I brought these with me."

Tsuna accepted the box when it was offered, feeling a little curious and peeking inside at the contents. Thirty rings, neatly lined in six rows, each one holding five rings marked with the class of the ring on a little tag attached to each one. All of them, presumably, Cloud Type.

"Kumo-sama tends to get frustrated when his prey runs from him and he can become rather snappish. You could say these are for both assistance and as a peace offering. Each of your Guardians and you yourself, young Vongola, should carry these rings on your person in case you run into one of Kumo-sama's fights or if he turns particularly violent."

"But there are only enough rings for six people to carry, not seven," Tsuna protested and Lambo shot him a confused look.

"Hibari isn't involved, Dame-Tsuna. Did you already forget?" Reborn asked as he kicked his student out of the blue. The hitman turned back to the teen Bovino. "Anything else to report?"

The Lightning Guardian winced. "Bucking Bronco found out about Kumo-sama's absence when he met Kumo-sama's younger self. He was predictably furious and is demanding of Irie-san, Spanner-san and Giannini-san to repair the device so he might retrieve Kumo-sama himself and ensure his safety. But Kumo-sama is a far scarier consequence so they are, of course, refusing him, since their lives are on the line. Unfortunately, Bucking Bronco managed to get his hands on some of the plans for the machine and has delivered them to Verde. They've struck a deal and it is only a matter of time before you have another visitor, this one perhaps even without replacing the past and future counterparts, as was per Bronco's request. He, apparently, wants to retrieve Kumo-sama himself while delivering younger Kumo-sama back to his own time. Needless to say, no one is happy about this. Except maybe Marshmallow-head. I heard he's even going out of his way to _help_ Verde figure out how to do it as Bronco requested. Someone's going to get bitten to death when a certain someone finds out about what that Bucking Bronco did."

 _'Hibari-san is going to bite Dino-san's future counterpart to death and then Kumo-san is going to discipline him to booth!'_ Just the thought brought shivers and tears to the young Vongola heir. What a cruel fate awaited his self-proclaimed older brother! Tsuna definitely pitied the man, but he could acknowledge that the blond had brought it on himself. He just hoped Dino-san's future counterpart survives the consequences of his actions!

"That may actually be good news, since we don't know what happened to 'Alaudi Kumo' after last night's hunt," Reborn said contemplatively, crossing his arms. "We have no idea how to fight these opponents yet, so it would be good if he had some backup that did."

"I rather doubt there is a need to offer Kumo-sama assistance," Lambo from the future said seriously. "He's a lot stronger than you could imagine by just looking at his younger counterpart as a referencing point, even _without_ Box Weapons or rings. His younger counterpart is, of course, really strong but the Kumo-sama you have met and housed is a monster of strength and ability, not to mention Fiamma Voltage and volumen. He's versed well enough in controlling his Flames that he doesn't need a conduit for performing easier tasks."

"Then why hasn't he returned yet, kora?" Colonello asked a bit impatiently, but just as Lambo was about to answer, that was the moment when the five minutes were up and a pink smokescreen left five year old Lambo behind, revealing that he was picking his nose.

"I really can't wait until 'Alaudi Kumo' starts disciplining this brat," the darkly dressed baby said almost viciously, though Tsuna could understand why he would be so pissed. Five minutes was not enough time to ask or answer all the important questions and it put them all on edge when important questions are cut off like that. "But I guess we can't do anything else right now other than wait to see what will happen. Go get ready for school, Tsuna, or else you'll be late."

That, of course, induced the normal flailing when the teen realized his 'home tutor' was right and he set about hastily dressing himself so he can go to school. Reborn jumped onto his shoulder as he was running out of the house and Colonello even went after them, being as usual carried by his seagull in flight. Somehow, he managed to get through the school gates before the tardy bell could sound off, though he had enough time to notice that the Disciplinary Committee seemed rather tense as they did their usual thing. In fact, they remained tense throughout the day, doing more patrols than usual, which made Sawada realize that Hibari-san must not have yet returned from wherever he had run off to.

He had been hoping that the Chairman would be back by now, ruling Nami-chuu with an iron fist - and tonfa - but it would seem he was still 'missing'. That was actually a bit troubling. This exceeded the amount of time Hibari-san had been missing even during the Mukuro debacle all those months ago. It made Tsuna worry that something might have happened to the prefect. Hibari-san was undeniably strong, the strongest of his Guardians even, but he was still human and there were now assassins with super powerful weaponry from the future running around.

Also, it was very much possible Mukuro was once again up to his old tricks, since he now had a medium to the outside world from his prison through Chrome Dokuro, the Guardian of the Vongola Mist Ring. He did seem to have a fascination with Hibari-san that was undoubtedly not healthy for the 'ruler' of Namimori.

After school, he managed to convince everyone to come to Koukuyo Land with him so they can check in with Chrome. Even if Mukuro's so called Koukuyo gang had nothing to do with Namimori Middle School's Disciplinary Chairman, it wouldn't hurt to warn the teens that some suspicious, dangerous people are milling around and Mukuro was, as established earlier, a bit fascinated (obsessed) with Hibari-san, so he might actually make his subordinates search for him to make sure nothing had happened to the object of his fascination.

Unexpectedly, on their way there, Dino-san's car pulled up and out stepped the man himself from the spacious backseat with Romario rolling down the passenger seat window to see the group. The blond was rather grim in the face, a steely look in his eyes Tsuna had never seen in the friendly man before. "Kusakabe says that he suspects you might know where Kyoya is. I managed to convince him to leave it to me instead of sending the Disciplinary Committee after you, so hop in and you better fill me in on _everything_ that you know or I'll seriously leave you to the tender mercies of a tense, panicked for their missing leader Disciplinary Committee."

"We don't actually know anything, Dino-san," Tsuna insisted with some panic seeping into his voice, though it might be interpreted as the fear of what the Disciplinary Committee might do to him and his friends when it was, in fact, in fear of Dino-san actually learning of the truth of the matter. Kumo-san was sure to _discipline_ them all should they get Dino-san involved when he was the target of the assassins. "It's more of a hunch to check something than actual knowledge!"

"Don't butt in, Dino. It's not really any of your business. This is Vongola business," Reborn said, rather harshly in Tsuna's opinion, from Yamamoto's shoulder, but the blond didn't let it deter him one bit.

"You also assigned me to be his teacher and even you, Reborn, can't so easily let go of that mantle towards me, even after all this time. Kyoya might be strong and he may have improved tremendously during our training for the fights against the Varia, but he's still just a kid and he could still get hurt."

"He won't thank you for thinking like that. He'll think you deem him weak."

"I'd rather he be around to be angry with me than for him to be missing," the Cavallone boss said firmly. "Kusakabe told me no one has seen him in days. That's not like Kyoya at all."

"You've only known him for a couple of weeks," countered Gokudera-kun, getting annoyed that their journey was being delayed like this. "How would you know?"

"Because I know Kyoya," Dino-san said with absolute conviction. "You can learn a lot about a person from spars, Hurricane Bomber Gokudera Hayato, and it helps that Hibari Kyoya is a very straightforward guy. He may keep his secrets, but he will always tell you things to your face honestly without bothering to censor or soften his words. Some traits in a person like that are easy to read, others not so much, but one thing I could immediately tell and that's that Hibari Kyoya would never just disappear like that, not as long as Namimori Middle School stands. Besides, we found this guy."

"Huh?" The teens all echoed as Dino-san reached into the folds of his jacket's hood and onto his outstretched finger hopped a cute yellow bird, small and fluffy. It chirped and flapped its wings before preening itself and completely ignoring the gawking group of kids.

"Isn't that Hibari's bird?" Gokudera-kun, who had first met the head prefect's new pet during the Mukuro incident since it had practically pointed the way to the trapped and battered Hibari-san, asked a bit incredulously.

"I've never seen him without it so far," Yamamoto commented, staring at the little creature in worry. Now everyone was worried for the prefect. Tsuna could tell that they were regretting not taking his own worries from Friday more seriously.

"Hibird rarely leaves Kyoya, so of course I got worried, especially when it didn't know where its master was so it couldn't lead me to him," Dino-san said grimly, petting the bird carefully. "When Kusakabe said you seem to know something, I set out to search for you so we can look for Kyoya together. Now tell me where you're going and let's go together. I want Kyoya safe and sound before I have to return to Italy."

So they piled in and told DIno-san a bit about the fight that had happened against the 'Koukuyo gang' a few months ago and Tsuna could finally see the mafia boss in Dino-san when the blond's face darkened with each new part of information revealed, _especially_ when Mukuro's treatment of Hibari-san came up. Hibird actually started chanting 'Bite you to death!' when Mukuro's fight with a severely injured Hibari-san was being retold. Ryohei-oniisan, Yamamoto and Gokudera-kun, as well as Dino-san's men up front and even partially Dino-san himself were all dumbfounded when Tsuna and reborn revealed that Mukuro's fascination with Hibari-san came from the fact that the head prefect could continue fighting on the same level and actually beat Mukuro - though temporarily - even beaten up, starved for days and with a good number of bones broken.

"That really shouldn't surprise me," Dino-san had muttered and he didn't sound particularly thrilled, but he stayed quiet to hear the rest of the story. "At least now I understand why he seems to despise this Rokudo Mukuro so much. Though it worries me that this guy seems to have his minions keeping an eye on Kyoya."

"It might turn out useful this time, though," Yamamoto said optimistically, though none of them actually liked the idea, either. It was too creepy and too stalkerish for their liking. And while Hibari-san was _really_ strong, he had been injured rather badly in the Ring conflicts, too, even if he seems to be of the mentality to just 'walk off' his injuries.

"We're here," Reborn said seconds before the car pulled to a stop in front of the rubble that was the entrance into the once budding and lively Koukuyo Land. The group remained silent as they made their way to the theater, where Mukuro had made his base last time around, not encountering any signs of trouble or hostility. Reborn, Colonello - who was still sticking around since he seems to be worried that two powerful fighters went missing in such a short time span - and Dino-san seemed to be uneasy by this and grew more tense and battle ready by the second, and it's not exactly like Tsuna and his friends were comforted by it, either.

It was almost a relief when they went in and started climbing to the room Mukuro had been hiding in, only to stop one floor below when a familiar 'Kufufufu' reached their ears, making them tense. "Oya, oya. What an unexpected surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure of Don Cavallone's and the Vongola Heir's visit?"

They all turned around to see Mukuro - no doubt possessing Chrome to do so - standing there with his signature trident, Ken and Chikusa flanking him on either side, his red eye almost glowing eerily in the low lighting.

"Oi, what are you bastards doing here!? This is our territory!" The wild blond in the green uniform snarled, but flinched back when Dino-san took out his whip and cracked it.

"Seems like we have a few wild beasts that need to be tamed," the mafia boss said ominously, his mafioso side showing again. Mukuro raised a hand to stop his subordinates from actually engaging in a fight they were bound to lose, since they were outnumbered three to one and Mukuro can only do so much for so long through Chrome.

"Why don't you answer my question, Sawada Tsunayoshi?" There was a hard edge in the illusionist's voice and Tsuna complied, more so to prevent an actual fight than because he was all that intimidated by Mukuro, not anymore.

"Ano, do you perhaps know where Hibari-san might be? You haven't seen him lately?"

The other half of the Guardian of the Mist Ring actually blinked in very obvious confusion, going as far as to tilt his head to the side. Something in Tsuna told him this was very genuine. Mukuro wasn't trying to trick them. He was honestly surprised by the question.

"Where do you get the idea I would even know where the Skylark may be at any other time, Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

"Don't pretend that you don't keep an eye on him," Reborn said in a no-nonsense type of voice. "I rather doubt it's everyday someone manages to intrigue you like that."

"Very true. However," the guy who had gone through Six Paths of Reincarnation said while slowly closing his eyes and then opening them at only half mast. "I am no stalker. From time to time, I would have Chikusa and Ken check up on him. I want him in top form when I eventually get out of my prison so we can settle, once and for all, which one of us would win in a fair fight. That does not translate to me obsessively keeping track of all of his movements. That's a sure way to get my subordinates killed and I am not like the mafia to sacrifice them so casually."

"Then you don't know where he could be, kora?" Colonello, ignoring the slight against the mafia, demanded.

The pineapple haired teen just shrugged. "Not a clue. Have you even checked all his favorite spots? Though, I _have_ heard through Chrome that there's a big commotion in Namimori these days. Something about a large unknown mafia assassination group arriving with strange weaponry. Follow the rumors and I'm sure you'll find the Skylark. He seems rather displeased whenever something disturbs the discipline in this small ?" Mukuro blinked again, looking something between amused and startled. "Oya, oya. What's this? Why give me such a glare, Haneuma Dino?"

A look at Dino-san sent chills down Tsuna's spine.

"You know well enough," answered the whip user, hand tightening on said weapon.

"Oh? Could it be because of what I did to your beloved Skylark?"

"Is it really a good idea to taunt him?" Reborn said, in a dangerous tone this time, making Mukuro stop and consider them all.

He closed his eyes serenely again. "I guess not. Besides, I would rather not trouble my cute little Chrome when I am so close to running out of time for this little visit. If that is all, you know the way out." And with that, the illusionist turned around and marched away. The yoyo user had to call the beastly blond away when he didn't immediately follow, but soon the Vongola and Cavallone group found themselves alone, heading back towards the car.

"You two look really pissed, kora," Colonello observed once they were in the car, on their way back to Namimori to drop everyone off.

"Yes, I extremely noticed, too. But you shouldn't worry!" Ryohei-oniisan, who had been strangely silent this whole time, finally spoke up. "Hibari is EXTREMELY strong and can EXTREMELY take care of himself. And Kumo seems to be equally EXTREMELY strong-" The rest of his words got muffled when Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto both jumped to cover his mouth before he could spill more information, they and Tsuna sweating nervously at the thought of Kumo-san's reaction should Dino-san get involved _now_.

But, thankfully, the blond seemed to be lost in - worrisome - thoughts, probably regarding Hibari-san's disappearance, so that was a blessing.

"I don't like this," was all Reborn said, aimed at Colonello. "If one of them doesn't come back by tomorrow morning, I'm going out to start searching for myself."

"I'll help, kora," the blond Arcobaleno offered just as the car came to a stop in front of Tsuna's house.

"Sorry we can't drop you off individually, but I need to get back to my hotel room and arrange some things," Dino-san said with a forced smile on his face that made Tsuna's own face muscles ping in pain. "Please call me if you find out _anything_ regarding Kyoya, okay?"

Tsuna mustered up some version of a smile for the older male that he was sure fell short of any semblance of reassuring. "Of course, Dino-san."

He wondered why this promise, though not regarding Kumo-san at all, felt like lying.


	10. Chapter 10

As two more days passed by with no sign of either Kumo-san or Hibari-san, Tsuna was officially in a state of panic. Kumo-san should be returning to the future today, a week since he appeared last Friday, and yet there was no news about the man, even though two Arcobaleno had teamed up to search for him.

Hibari-san, too, remained absent, though the Disciplinary Committee seem to have spread the word that Hibari-san had some family issues to deal with and won't be available for the foreseeable future.

Which sounded like quite a lie, except Tsuna didn't actually know if Hibari-san even _had_ any family to speak off, so if he hadn't been in on the fact that the prefect was missing from the start, he probably would have bought it just like the rest of Nami-chuu. It's not exactly like someone would be suicidal enough to _question_ the Disciplinary Committee, especially if their leader happened to be in an even worse mood than usual due to family problems. And since no one but the Disciplinary Committee members - and apparently Dino-san and Romario-san, too, as of relatively recently - knew where the Chairman lived, no one could try to check on him, either.

These last two days have been very stressful for the entire school. No one dared cause trouble since no one knew when the Chairman might return and no one wanted to be his first victim if he was indeed pissed. It was especially stressful for Tsuna and his 'family', since they spent hours upon hours after school searching for _two_ Clouds, though with Dino-san's attention mostly turned towards finding Hibari-san, they could focus on Kumo-san. Both searches still wound up empty on both days with no sign of either of them anywhere and Reborn had started looking a little murderous that morning when they found, yet again, that Kumo-san had not returned to the guest room he had been using at the Sawada household.

Dino-san had huge eyebags when he stepped out of his red Ferrari with Romario hot on his heels just before school starts. The students of Nami-chuu were curious but quickly ushered inside by the Disciplinary Committee, though Kusakabe-san stayed behind when Romario-san waved at him. Hibird flew from Dino-san's hair to Kusakabe-san's shoulder and chirped sadly, obviously missing its master dearly.

Reborn was the only Arcobaleno with them this morning, Colonello having gone off early to search some more for either of the two missing Clouds. The hiteman was sitting on Yamamoto's shoulder again, as tense as he had been since Kumo-san's unexplained, sudden disappearance.

"We found some news about Kyoya from some Yakuza he seems to have been bitting to death at the time of his disappearance. We're not sure how reliable their information is, since they're still being treated at the hospital for severe blunt trauma to the head," Dino-san gave an exasperated sigh while everyone else pretty much sweat dropped at the perfectly Hibari-like method. "And their story doesn't exactly cover all that much ground. Basically, Kyoya found them lurking about before school hours, trying to vandalize Nami-chuu's grounds." Everyone winced upon hearing that. Yeah, those guys were pretty much lucky to be alive at all. You don't mess with Nami-chuu. _Ever_. Especially _not_ when Hibari-san was close enough to see you and swiftly deliver punishment while his temper was still running hot. "As he was finishing up with them, one of the guys said that there was a very bright light and a puff of smoke, but he blacked out before he could see what had happened. The next time he woke up, he was already in the hospital, getting threats of punishment from his boss for getting beat up by a middle schooler and he defending himself and his comrades that it was Namimor Middle's Disciplinary Committee's Chairman. He presumed someone happened upon them while Kyoya was finishing them off and that they had thrown explosives on him."

Tsuna exchanged looks with his friends. Hibari-san can't be taken out so easily with explosives. Most of the time, Hibari-san seemed _invincible_.

"We searched the site where the Yakuza members say it happened, but we could find no traces of any explosive or flammable materials around. We're guessing it was a smoke bomb with sleeping gas," Romario-san filled in, seeing their looks.

"That still doesn't really make sense. That guy could move under the influence of the Death Heather poison that's strong enough to leave elephants down," Gokudera-kun argued, looking agitated. "There's no way just any sleeping gas could knock him out."

"There's no additional signs of struggle, beside the one-sided fight between Kyoya and those Yakuza idiots," Dino-san says resignedly. "That's the only explanation, and given how much time has passed, it's quite possible that any trace of the gas is long gone, so we can't exactly tell if it's maybe something stronger than Death Heather poison."

"No, I agree with Gokudera," Reborn said seriously. "Hibari is not the type to be taken down by such means."

"But then why is he suddenly _gone_ , Reborn!?" Snapped the Cavallone, looking extremely stressed and very angry at the moment. Tsuna had never seen him like this before. "Where is he? Why didn't he return to school?"

"Could someone really kidnap Hibari?" Ryohei-oniisan sounded as dumbfounded as the rest of them felt, no doubt. Even though Mukuro had once managed to contain Hibari-san for a short while, that was because Shamal had screwed Hibari-san over with one of his Trident Mosquitos that carried the Sakura-kura disease, but once he got the cure for that, Hibari-san was back in top form even with several broken bones! Hibari-san took down Gola Mosca with two swings! Yes, he hadn't completely shut it off, but it had taken Tsuna using Dying Will Flames and Hyper Deathperation Mode to take it fully down! Hibari-san isn't a person that can be so easily _kidnapped_!

"I think you should worry more about yourselves, Vongola Tenth Generation, Don Cavallone," an unfamiliar voice said and they all whirled around to face a man dressed in some sort of fighting uniform with some strange weapon in his hand that looked kind of like a bo staff, but there were Dying Will Flames lit on either side of the weapon. Suddenly, more men and women dressed similarly to him emerged from behind the school's wall fence or dropped down out of the trees in the courtyard and a few even flew down from the sky, hovering above them on some sort of Flame powered flying boots. "My, my. I wonder how big of a bonus we'd get if we were to take you all out along with Haneuma. It would compensate nicely for all the trouble we went through to deal with Vongola Decimo's Cloud lapdog. He cost us a lot of equipment."

"Are you the ones that are responsible for Kumo-san's disappearance?" Tsuna asked, hand already inching towards his pocket, where he'd started to always carry Basil's Dying Will pills and his X Gloves. Just in case something like this might happen. He'd started at Reborn's insistence even before Kumo-san had appeared in his house with news that there were assassins from the future coming to kill Dino-san.

"Tsuna, what's going on?" Said blond demanded now, though he'd already taken out his whip.

"We're here to kill you, Cavallone Decimo, for the sins you will commit ten years in the future against our families," the apparent leader of the group said, glaring at the Don. Dino-san just narrowed his eyes, looking even more confused but nevertheless, he and his men, as well as Tsuna and his Guardians and Kusakabe-san all fell into fighting stances, taking out whatever weaponry they had with them. Tsuna actually kind of lamented that Lambo wasn't around, too, for once, because even if it is only his child self, the Bovino at least had ample amounts of explosives and other weaponry on hand.

"Reborn, Tsuna, _what is going on_?" Dino-san demanded with more authority and Tsuna found himself explaining in as much detail as he could manage in short sentences.

"Last Friday, a man from the future allied with Vongola came with news that some three families created a time machine of sorts to travel to our time to kill you for some reason and he followed to make sure it doesn't happen. He disappeared three days ago, in the fight that broke out in Midnight Mafioso. We've been searching for him ever since."

"Are you the ones behind his absence?" Reborn asked, Leon gun in hand and a sharp look in his eyes.

"One of our groups certainly did," another of the assassins says, sounding smug and greatly amused. "It wasn't exactly easy, since we lost a lot of men, but it could have been harder, too. A simple poisoned dart to the neck imbued with Sun Flame's activity factor and he was down in minutes. It was rather impressive that he didn't go down immediately, but whatever."

"He should be dead by now," the leader said conversationally, and Tsuna felt his heart freeze. "He was an arrogant bastard, from what I've heard. We'll be taking the body back to send it to Vongola as a message. I'm sure it will bring us great fame and many allies in the future, for taking down a Vongola hitman, especially one that skilled."

"You bastards!" Growled their resident bomber, looking more pissed than Tsuna's ever seen him.

"But you shouldn't worry about a corpse," the leader continued, smirking at the group. "You should be more concerned about yourselves. This is, after all, your judgment day for how you've treated our families!"

"I've never struck down a famiglia that wasn't the opposite of what the Cavallone stand for or if they haven't attacked my family first," the Cavallone boss said, tightening the grip on his whip. "What have you done to provoke my older self into making you his enemies? Drugs? Human trafficking? Organs trafficking? _Children_ trafficking?"

"You bastards destroyed our warehouses with a lot of good quality meth and cocaine!" Another of the assassins yelled, sounding enraged. "All of our clients who have paid patronage to our fields and chemists came knocking and nearly desolated our famiglia! It was none of the Cavallone's business! We weren't even doing it on your territory, but ours! Where do you get off acting as if you have the moral high ground when your money is just as bloody as ours was!?"

"What's worse, he attacked us because his little whore got injected with some of the good stuff while traveling through our territory," sneered the man next to him. "The stiff-backed little Asian prick, all arrogant and high and mighty because he's a Vongola Guardian, preaching about discipline." Everyone tensed at that, because there was only _one_ person that could fit that description that they knew of. "Gotta give it to that bastard Cavallone, he's got good taste. He should be fucking grateful to us because that stuff should have finally loosened up that tight little ass."

Tsuna's Hyper Intuition _screamed_ danger when a wave of unadulterated killing intent and blood-lust rushed from Dino-san. He tried not to flinch away from the blond, but it was really hard. And Reborn wasn't exactly helping any. Or Yamamoto, for that fact. Maybe Reborn is on to something when he says that the baseball star is a born hitman. He could understand their fury, of course. Yamamoto seemed kind of fond of Hibari-san and his strange ways, even though he's still wisely wary of the prefect. Reborn had never hidden the fact that he wanted the aloof teen drawn more into their group, their family, even though he never tried to get any of them to try to force the matter. Hibari-san would always be there when they really needed him, so everyone was content. And Dino-san, well ... Dino-san actually _liked_ Hibari-san just as he was, for who he is and what he stands for and he didn't mind the other's aloof, oftentimes almost cold demeanor. Dino-san seemed to understand Hibari-san and appreciated him just as he was.

To hear these men talking about the future Hibari-san suffering through some drug's effects like that, and so casually and crudely ...

Well, Gokudera-kun, who wasn't very fond of Hibari-san, was also incredibly pissed and even the always positive Onii-san seemed to be rearing for a blood fight. Hell, even _Tsuna_ wanted to fight for the very first time without having to be forced into it.

Because Hibari-san is family and he would be _damned_ before he let something happen to the people who have become his family.

"You will die for your offense," Reborn said in a deadly tone, gun trained at the enemies.

The assassins all seemed rather amused. "Can you really promise that, Arcobaleno? We are way out of your league. You've probably never even seen one of these, have you?" The leader proudly took out a Box Weapon, though his was significantly different from Kumo-san's. For one, it was green in color and didn't have cloud designs etched into the Box.

"Actually, we have," Reborn said. "That's not going to save you. You don't honestly think your little toy can stand up against an Arcobaleno, do you?"

"Why don't we fight and find out, baby bastard?" Another of the men said and the assassins all took out their own Box Weapons. Tsuna and the others were treated to seeing their first Box Weapons usage as the assassins from the future all lit up different Flames on their rings - no Sky Flames or Clouds in sight, only a couple of Mists, mostly Lightning and Storms with a handful Rains in the mix - and shoved the ignited crystals on the rings into the openings on the Boxes, activating them and releasing various weapons or strange Flames-burning animals. It doubled or even tripled their numbers, which seriously wasn't favorable to the small group that the Vongola-Cavallone side made up.

Tsuna quickly put on his gloves and popped a Dying Will pill, his senses sharpening as he fell into his fighting mentality. Gokudera-kun already had hands full of dynamites and Yamamoto had taken up a Shigure Soen Ryu stance, making his Shigure Kintoki that he's been carrying around since the double Cloud disappearances transform into a steel katana instead of the shinai it first appears to be and Ryohei-oniisan had fallen into a boxing stance but seemed to be concentrating hard so he can use that terrifying Maximum Cannon of his. Romario-san had a gun out as well and Dino-san looked ready to literally whip every single one of the assassins into shape and Kusakabe-san seems to have grabbed a metal pole from somewhere to protect himself.

The ones from the future just laughed at them before the leader ordered an attack and the battle began.

It didn't take long at all for them to realize they, save Reborn and maybe Tsuna if he gets a lucky shot, stood no chance. Reborn's Chaos Bullets - which appear to be made up of pure and powerful Sun Flames - could fight against and maybe even take down some of the Box Weapons in their animal form and the little hitman knew how to fight even if someone manages to get close to him, but the numbers were not on their side and Reborn had to look out for the Tenth Generation Guardians and his two students. Tsuna could easily use Zero Point Breakthrough, but the assassins wizened up when they saw him freeze their Box Animals or Weapons and made sure not to give him time to complete the technique. Ryohei-oniisan's Maximum Cannon could knock back Box Animals, but they would just get back up or return to the Boxes, where the assassins would just summon them back out.

Dino-san could keep the assassins themselves away with the help of his whip, but he had to doge Box Weapon attacks regardless and hide behind his very expensive car lest he lose his life. Gokudera-kun's dynamites had little effect, even if they did make the assassins scramble out of the way. The rocket ones were really useful for the few that were hovering in the sky with those Flame-flying boots, because at least if they were busy enough dodging the seemingly random attacks, they can't rain down their own attacks on the family. They could all just hope that Gokudera-kun packed enough dynamite today to last them through the fight until they figure out some sort of strategy, because even with Reborn on their side, this fight wasn't going to have a happy ending.

"Enough games," the leader said after twenty minutes of fighting, when Yamamoto managed to get in close and leave a nasty gash on the man's left bicep. "It's time to end this."

"Not good!" Tsuna whispered to himself, quickly calling for everyone to gather around and he flew down, using Zero Point Breakthrough to make a dome of ice around them, just in time as every single one of the assassins and their Box Animals surged forward in a synchronized attack. Even though the rings these guys were using apparently can't hold a candle to the Flames released by Vongola Rings, they still started chipping and melting away at the ice. It just took longer.

"Damn it, this can't be the end!" Gokudera-kun screamed in outrage, holding an injured side while reluctantly leaning on a heavily breathing and rather bruised Yamamoto. Ryohei-oniisan seemed to be supporting Kusakabe-san, who had a big gash on his left temple, having fought with them bravely despite having no idea what was going on, just saying that as Vice-Chairman, it was his duty to protect Nami-chuu in Hibari-san's absence. It was admirable and enviable loyalty, but also suicidal, as it turned out. Tsuna couldn't believe Kumo-san had called these people _weak_.

 _'Then who is_ strong _?'_ Was the even scarier question that Tsuna didn't want to contemplate, though he had a feeling the answer might just be Kumo-san himself.

"Shit, the ice is breaking!" Dino-san cursed.

"I don't think we can stay in here for much longer," Yamamoto agreed, looking around for a way out that would allow them to escape and regroup for a second round.

"We extremely can't let these guys win!" Ryohei-oniisan insisted, but wasn't as loud as he would usually be, apparently in consideration for the no doubt concussed Kusakabe-san.

"They want me, right? I'll bait them away. You guys just get the hell out of here," Dino-san said and took a step forward, as if to plant himself as a shield for when the thinning ice inevitable breaks.

"You heard them, you stupid Bucking Bronco!" Gokudera-kun snapped, a hand lashing out to grab onto the blond's shoulder. "You may have been their initial target, but they'll go after us as a bonus regardless! We stand a better chance fighting together than scattering like frightened gazelles!"

"Actually, we just make a really nice, big target if we stay like this," the Disciplinary Committee Vice-Chairman argued. "Incho always says that crowding always only gives a predator more prey to hunt and makes it easier, because the strength in numbers means nothing if we trample over ourselves in the fight or escape. If we separate, it's more dangerous, yes, but we'll have higher chances of survival because it's easier to lose a pursuer by oneself or in a smaller group than in a bigger one."

"And here I thought that tonfa freak was just more antisocial than anyone else," Gokudera-kun grumbled to himself, mostly, but seemed to accept the reasoning.

"I'm afraid it won't matter," Romario-san says, stepping in front of Dino-san to protect his boss, even if it was only for a moment longer. Tsuna inwardly cursed, because he knew making another dome would only prolong the inevitable when they had no idea how to fight these guys. He understood why Kumo-san had said that they shouldn't get involved in any fights against the assassins from the future. The Box Weapons can only be fought with Box Weapons and Dying Will Flames, which none of them knew how to ignite, even though Reborn had told them resolve was the key. They simply couldn't concentrate on a foreign fighting style while fighting for their lives.

"It's been an extreme honor, Sawada," Ryohei-oniisan said when the first crack appeared on the inside of the ice dome.

"I'm glad we could be friends, Tsuna, everyone," Yamamoto followed as it spread, branching out further.

"I'm sorry I failed you, Juudaime," Gokudera-kun said with a pained tone of voice.

"It was an honor protecting Namimori Middle School with you," Kusakabe-san even joined in. "Thank you for looking after our Incho."

"I'm sorry, Boss," Romario-san said to Dino-san.

The blond gave them all a bitter smile. "It was fun, but it looks like this is it."

"I'm sorry, everyone, Reborn. I wish I could have been a better friend, a better boss," Tsuna said, closing his eyes as chips started falling out of the cracked ice.

"Dame-Tsuna, you should really put more faith into your Guardians," Reborn said just as the dome was about to shatter, but the attack suddenly came to a stop as something purple with silver spikes sailed through the air, prowling right over the Box Animals, some of them unlucky to get stuck on the huge spikes, others being thrown away several dozen meters and some being crushed into submission, making them retreat into their Boxes. The dome was fragile enough to shatter anyway, but a whole army of those same weird spheres was now floating in front of them defensively, moving to block any long range attacks that the assassins tried to shoot. The spheres didn't so much as budge when the attacks hit, though some at the front started rotating and barreling towards the enemy.

"Wao," a familiar, incredibly reassuring voice - because it was so dangerous and belonged to someone equally as dangerous and _very_ powerful - said from somewhere behind them and they heard approaching footsteps of expensive Italian leather shoes. They all whirled around, eyes widening when they saw who was casually marching towards them. The clothing was a bit ripped and rather dirty in some places, but there were no wounds on pale flesh and the stride was confident, sure, _predatory_ as wind ruffled jet black hair messily. "People are getting more and more foolish each day. To truly believe you can restrain a _Cloud_ ... "

"No way," breathed one of the assassins as all attacks stopped, everyone turning to focus on the new arrival.

"It can't be!" Another exclaimed, looking shaken.

"Why would Vongola send _him_!?"

The cause of the new commotion walked casually past Tsuna and his group, silver-blue eyes barely sparing them a once-over glance to ensure they won't die without immediate medical treatment before focusing back on the assassins. "You have committed several atrocities that I will not forgive," the owner of the sharp eyes says. "For targeting Dino Cavallone, trespassing on Vongola and Cavallone territory with your drug cartel, trespassing in Namimori and damaging Nami-chuu's school property-"

"No way," Yamamoto breathed this time, eyes widening as the man took out a Box Weapon with cloud designs on it, inserting a very familiar silver decorated Ring into the opening.

"It can't be," Ryohei-oniisan actually whispered, probably for the first time in his life, as familiar silvery steel weapons sprang out of the Box, immediately expertly held by the handles, parallel to the forearm from wrist to elbow.

"Why would _he_ come for Haneuma?" Gokudera-kun asked seemingly no one as Cloud Flames charged with killing intent lit on the tonfa, making the man's hair whip around even more as the power of them surged forward, some of the purple spiked spheres moving to flank him. Tsuna only idly noted that the biggest one seemed to have a really cute little hedgehog in the center before the hedgehog turned to face the enemies with it's master.

"You," the leader of the assassins said in a shaken voice. "Why are _you_ here!? What could _possibly_ make the Cloud that bites the Skies get involved in such petty matters!?"

"Kumo-san, could you be?" Tsuna asked, unable to believe he had not realized it sooner. "Are you Hibari-"

"-I will bite you to death."

"Kyoya!?"


	11. Chapter 11

"What could _possibly_ get the _Cloud that bites the Skies_ involved in such petty matters!?" The leader of the assassins asked practically hysterically as he stared at the lethal Japanese man standing protectively in front of the Vongola-Cavallone (and one Disciplinary Committee member) group with steel tonfa lit with Cloud Flames held in his hands on either side of his body, relaxed and casual in the face of the upcoming fight.

"I will bite you to death."

"Kyoya!?" Dino Cavallone said in disbelief, immediately recognizing the man for who he was, ten years older than the one he knew or not. Dino Cavallone would _never_ not recognize Hibari Kyoya. There was no force in this world that would mask or hide the Chairman from him, for only Hibari Kyoya could make his heart beat like crazy in his chest by his mere mention or presence.

Tsuna, Yamamoto, Gokudera and Ryohei could only gawk, unable to believe they hadn't recognized the prefect, their Cloud Guardian, when now it seemed so _obvious_ just who 'Alaudi Kumo' was. It was all there. Hibari Kyoya had not changed all that much in ten years. He'd gotten taller, of course, and his face had matured, sharper without the clinging baby fat of his teen years. His hair was just a bit shorter, looking a bit wilder and the suit really shouldn't have been such a throw-off, even if they had only ever seen the Disciplinary Committee's leader in his school uniform. Actually, the missing red and gold armband was probably the weirdest thing.

But the silver-blue eyes were the same. The features were the same. The way the other walked, talked and acted was the same, even if the man seemed more tolerant of some behaviors than his present-time self would ever be.

It was, without a doubt, Namimori's scary prefect, Nami-chuu's protector and the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee, Hibari Kyoya.

The Tenth Generation Vongola Guardian of the Cloud Ring.

The _Cloud that bites the Skies_ , as it would seem.

Kusakabe Tetsuya drank in the image of this older version of his Incho like a man in a desert, so many parts of his being finally relaxing. Because while the Disciplinary Committee knew perfectly well their Chairman was _strong_ \- stronger than almost anyone else and definitely far more resilient - he was also human and they feared his lifestyle might lead him to an early grave and they, his loyal Disciplinary Committee, would have to be the ones to bury him. To have tangible proof that the Chairman will live and grow up ... The relief was so great that he nearly allowed himself to pass out. But he couldn't. Not now, when his Incho was here.

Reborn relaxed as well, upon seeing the visiting version of Hibari Kyoya, his new drinking partner for whom he'll have to wait for a few more years before they can have a repeat of Sunday night, here and perfectly fine. Really, he was only a little worse off for wear, which shouldn't be a surprise at all. These people had thought that they had given him a poison strong enough to kill him, why should they bother beyond that poison dart hitting? Of course, it made Reborn wonder just how someone with the title of 'the Cloud that bites the Skies' could possibly be so underestimated or remain unrecognized. Hibari wasn't a person easily overlooked, even when he wasn't in the mood to bite people to death. He spoke to that instinct-driven part of the brain, the danger wafting off of him in waves. It's what first drew Reborn's attention to the teenager, when he had first seen Tsuna off to school over a year ago and saw the prefect for the first time.

Maybe Reborn should talk to someone about his choice in friends, because it can't be good for his health - especially in this form - to worry about them so much when something may happen to them.

"Kyoya, why are you older than _me_!? What's going on!? What happened to you!?" Dino asked, almost scrambling over to the older Hibari if not for the hedgehog sphere which intercepted him.

"I'll deal with you later, Bucking Horse. For now, I have a bunch of herbivores to bite to death."

"Don't be hasty, Kyoya!" Admonished the Italian in worry. "They're not nearly as weak as you might think!"

"Oh, but they are," the ten-years-later Hibari said, glancing over his shoulder with a confident smirk which looked almost serene if his eyes weren't flashing dangerously. "I could take them all down with a single D class ring, but, unfortunately," he turned to the assassins, frowning in annoyance. "They stole the rings I brought with me, even the high purity ones my Bucking Horse sent, which pisses me off." The Cloud Vongola Ring on his finger flared with an overwhelming amount of pure Cloud Flames, making the assassins all start backing away in horror and the Box Animals start growling warily, some hunching over, some trying to appear imposing to challenge the new predator. "I had no choice but to resort to using my Vongola Ring, which just makes me want to bite you to death more."

"W-what are you doing?!" The assassin leader growled at his underlings, pointing a finger at the future version of the Tenth Generation Vongola Cloud Guardian. "Don't cower! If we all fight, we can take him!"

"You _are_ aware that I regularly bite _Xanxus_ and his Varia to death, yes?" The older Hibari said condescendingly. "Sawada Tsunayoshi has taken to evacuating northern Italy whenever I feel bored enough to visit them."

"You won't intimidate us, bastard," the leader said, trying to appear confident when, in fact, Hibari had indeed already more than intimidated him. Hibari's reputation is bloody, he is a man feared far and wide, known to tag along for suicide missions with the Varia, taking down whole famiglias on his own or running off with the Arcobaleno when he gets bored. He is the strongest Vongola Guardian and one of the strongest Clouds in recorded history. True to a twenty two year old Dino's prediction not long before the Cloud Ring Battle, Hibari Kyoya's growth was indeed proving to be limitless, as it took very little for the man to pick up new skills and amp up his strength each time one of his fellow Guardians or one of his Skies see him again after whatever period of time he chose to go under the radar at any given time. The new leader of CEDEF, the founder of the Foundation, an advisor to three other Skies, the Storm Arcobaleno's nephew and the Sun Arcobaleno's drinking buddy, Hibari Kyoya was not a man to be messed with.

And that is widely known and acknowledged to be utterly, stupidly suicidal.

As was threatening or damaging anything that he considers _his_. (Clouds were known for being rather possessive or territorial. Hibari Kyoya was shamelessly both. He was a true Cloud, after all.)

Namimori and especially Namimori Middle School. (His roots.)

Sawada Tsunayoshi and the Tenth Generation Vongola Guardians. (They were _his_. _His_ Sky and _his_ Storm, Rain, Sun, Lightning and twin Mists.)

His Disciplinary Committee which evolved into his Foundation. ( _His_.)

Hibrid and his Box Animal Weapon, Roll the cute little Cloud hedgehog. (His treasured precious partners.)

Fon, the Baby and the other Arcobaleno. (His fellow carnivores who can still teach him so much and provide him with marvelous spars.)

Marshmallow-head. Xanxus and his Varia. (They were entertaining.) I-Pin, Bianchi, Haru, Hana, Kyoko, Basil, Fuuta. (Little animals, the lot of them, in need of protection. Not like _the_ little animal, the omnivore, but still.)

 _Bucking Horse_. ( _His_ Bucking Horse.)

Kyoya had killed several famiglias and organizations that had dared to directly target Bucking Horse. These herbivores were far from the first. Of course, he'd done the same for the other things/people/animals on his list, but whenever someone went after Bucking Horse, it turns _very_ personal. It didn't even matter that these herbivores had managed to inject him with some pretty strong drugs when he had been passing through their territory and accidentally discovered the warehouses on the border with Cavallone territory. That had hardly impeded his further journey or the hundreds of corpses he had left in his wake, though he'd ended up needing a Roll sphere to take him a part of the way to Bucking Horse's mansion because it became uncomfortable and unbearable to walk with a boner between his legs and his head spinning from both the aphrodisiac influence of the drug and the high it was trying to give him.

Dino had been furious when he'd seen his condition, even more so to hear that it was happening not on the _borders_ of his territory but _behind_ the _new borders_ set not a month before with that same bastardo famiglia in exchange for money since they seemed to be deep in depth and were selling territory to pay for it. Hibari had pouted for a week once the drugs wore off and he heard Dino had stolen his prey. The Bucking Horse had at least known that would be his Kyoya's reaction and had prepared for it, having the cooks prepare all of the Japanese man's favorite meals for the duration of his stay, purchasing him a new _car_ and even showering him in high purity Cloud rings.

(Really, Kyoya could just use the Vongola Cloud Ring, since it's the only ring that won't break no matter how much Flames he channels through and into it, but it's always much more fun to see his prey's reaction when they see even _A_ class rings shatter after a single use. They always get oh so deliciously panicked, because it is known far and wide that only the one Cloud who can take on any Sky that might come at him in battle can do that to rings with a single use. Hibari has spent quite a few years making his reputation such that even the hardest of mafioso started shaking at the knees at the sight of him, so his mere name would have people fleeing in the other direction, desperate for their lives. It truly was great fun, even if only one (two if you counted the Gesso boss) of his Skies agreed wholeheartedly.)

Of course, Dino had aimed to teach them a lesson, not erase them from the earth the way Hibari would have done, which ultimately brought about this problem in the first place. Kyoya guessed it made sense that he'd somehow found himself Skies that balanced each other out. Even though Sawada Tsunayoshi was the one whom he shared the strongest Harmonization with, it was only by just a little. They all shared an almost equal bond because Sawada Tsunayoshi was a strong, pure, all-encompassing Sky who welcomed and embraced even former enemies into his fold. (Byakuran still couldn't believe he and his famiglia were made into equal allies to the Vongola after he had tried to completely destroy them and kill the Decimo. Xanxus had accepted that his 'adopted' little brother was a strange little omnivorous animal and that it was best to just go along with it. Besides, after everything that happened and after Sawada Tsunayoshi gave Varia more freedom from the Vongola boss' position, Varia became a valuable and irreplaceable ally to the Vongola once more. It helped that the one who directly oversaw their madness was someone who understood their destructiveness, i. e. Hibari Kyoya, a battle maniac to equal them in skill and strength and bloodlust. They got along swimmingly, Varai and Vongola. Vongola and Gesso.)

Xanxus and Byakuran would have gladly wiped the three opposing famiglias right off the face of the earth and then salted the ground out of pettiness.

Sawada Tsunayoshi and Dino Cavallone rarely, if ever, resorted to such measures, preferring to try the peaceful approach, teaching a lesson at most. (Still, they too, at times, agreed that they should just send out Kyoya to deal with it.)

The strange bond they shared that made them a huge family - because, yes, the other Elements somehow got roped into it, too, through their bonds with their Skies - was balanced between mercy and mercilessness, which also made Kyoya a lot less aggressive over the years due to Dino's and Tsunayoshi's influence.

It was weird and no one outside of their strange group could ever hope to _begin_ understanding it, but that was nothing new. The Tenth Vongola Generation is the wildest, weirdest one as of yet. And _Primo_ had _Daemon Spade_ to deal with, so that's saying something.

Anyway, in short, Kyoya did not like it when one of _his_ herbivores/omnivores/carnivores/little animals was endangered and these people had not only dared go after _one_ , but after Bucking Horse and _then_ through the loss they would aim for the others.

They alone were at fault for the fact that they will now be bitten to death.

Encouraged and emboldened by their foolish, herbivorous leader, the other herbivores all charge into a united assault which greatly insults Hibari, because not only does he still _hate_ crowds, he's offended that they think such a weak attack could do him any damage. He doesn't bother to dodge, instead raising his left arm and channeling defensive/protective Cloud Flames into that tonfa to the point that the Flames were big enough to nearly block his entire body when the attack lands. All the attacks that try to come at him from the side are easily dealt with by Roll or by the long chain he releases from the bottom end of his free tonfa, finishing off nearly half of the herbivore herd in that one move.

His herbivores were all already making a ruckus at his strength, but Kyoya was not even warming up from this. Numbers would never be a problem for him. Or for any true Cloud, anyway, since their specialty is _propagation_. If they cannot handle a greater number of enemies, then they are a weak Cloud. Hibari was not a weak Cloud.

More attacks came, but Hibari just let his Roll spheres take the brunt of it while he jumped from sphere to sphere so he could reach the flying herbivores first. It's always best to eliminate any air support before dealing with the ground forces. Not that taking care of the few that had flying equipment took long, and even the Box Animals were easy to deal with when he had Roll go into Cambio Forma and propagated the handcuffs until he had enough to trap all of them, squeezing until they returned to their boxes.

Really, dealing with these 'assassins' was far too easy. It was disappointing and _embarrassing_ that he had had to allow himself to be taken to their hideout so he could take out all of their forces in one fell swoop. Only the poison had actually turned out to be strong enough that he had to take the new, experimental Sun Healing Pills the Vongola scientist have been making and that stupid pill kept him under _way_ too long in an attempt to let his body recover. He'll be handing in his _complaints_ about the product to the scientists once he gets back. They've earned his ire this time because he had woken up to these herbivores about to _bury_ him in the middle of the abandoned Namimori warehouse district.

"Die, bastard!" Yelled the leader as he and several others charged Kyoya, who finally had enough with having to deal with such weak herbivores and swiftly cracked all of their skulls open, one by one in quick succession across the impromptu battlefield, until no one moved or so even as twitched.

"Tch," he grumbled, waving off the blood from his tonfa before allowing them and Roll to return to their Boxes. "They didn't even last five minutes. How boring."

"No way," whispered Tsuna, not able to believe his eyes. None of his fellow combatants were any less stunned, either. They had been fighting for almost half an hour and they had only lasted that long thanks to Reborn and Tsuna then hiding them in a Zero Point Breakthrough First Edition dome. And yet this future Hibari had just casually stepped in and took down all those enemies within a couple of minutes! With not a scratch on him! No, not just that, but not a _chance_ to land a hit on him!

"As expected of Hibari," Reborn said with a smirk, walking over so he was standing in front of the man from the future. Hibari returned the smirk.

"Were you surprised?"

"Not at all," the World's Greatest Hitman replied, completely sincere and rather smug about it. "Though I will admit to a faint worry."

The black haired man snorted, looking completely unconvinced. "You panicked for a moment, didn't you." It wasn't even a question. "No worries, I am rather familiar with that. Even after ten years, people still panic if I suddenly don't return home even though I'm supposed to that day, week, month, whatever. Though the future you has resorted to hunting me down and making me have a drink with you as payback for making everyone panic."

"I should do that now, since I doubt I'll have a chance for quite a few years."

"Wait, what's going on?" A hopelessly confused Dino asked, stumbling over to his former tutor and staring at Kyoya like a drowning man lost at sea finally seeing a ship coming his way to save him. "Is it really you, Kyoya?" The blond looked almost drunk as he boldly, brazenly, reached a hand out to cup the older Hibari's cheek. To the surprise of everyone, especially Cavallone himself, Hibari let it happen and even leaned just the tiniest bit into the touch.

"I knew this was the reason you didn't want Dino to catch sight of you," Reborn said with something like smug triumph. Hibari just closed his eyes, that dangerous smile of his gentling just the tiniest bit. Fond and amused instead of lethally attractive. "You knew he'd recognize you at first sight, so you hid yourself while dealing with the issue."

"But of course," a voice identical to Dino's said from behind the group and they all whirled around once again to see the new newcomer. Even Hibari's eyes snapped open and he peered over the startled Dino's shoulder in something like astonishment as he caught sight of the blond hair, green jacket with a fur rim and a bright smile. "There's nothing in this world that could possibly make me unable to recognize any version of Kyoya, no matter what. It drives illusionists insane." The new blond laughed, completely ignoring the stunned expressions and wide eyes trained on him all around. He had his own eyes, a beautiful hazel in color, trained only on sharp silver ones.

"Bucking Horse ... ?" Hibari asked, barely a whisper.

Tsuna winced. "Is now a bad time to say Lambo told us that the future Dino-san delivered the schematics for the device to future Verde and might be coming after you?"

" ... I'll bite you to death." Two voices, near identical, said and the future Vongola boss let out a shriek.

"Hibari-san!?"


	12. Chapter 12

Hibari Kyoya had been having a wonderful disciplinary session with a bunch of misbehaving herbivores in his beloved Namimori when suddenly, a puff of pink smoke had engulfed him and he found himself unbelievably traveling through time and space masked as a tube-like portal of brilliant rainbow colors, until everything went black. He opened his eyes again when he heard gunfire and a lot of commotion, like useless herbivores crowding together not far from him, which immediately set him off.

Namimori's scariest and most dangerous citizen _hated_ crowds.

It was perhaps a very good thing that he was so annoyed, because when he saw a bright flash coming at him and his instincts screamed _DANGER!_ , it was incredibly easy to bring up his right hand and let the purple Flames coming out of his Vongola Ring take the brunt of what appeared to be a Flame-induced attack. Hibari was actually a bit stunned by that, as he had acted on instinct entirely, but he didn't bother to contemplate it at that moment, as there were herbivores to be bitten to death and they dared crowd around him even closer. They all had weapons, all of them glowing like the Vongola Rings, if not as intensely as the Rings had when they were used to unfreeze that Xanxus herbivore after the little animal had defeated him.

Apparently, that damned Bucking Horse had been right when he had said, during his last visit, that the Flames and the Rings will soon be major powers in future battles, though Hibari had not expected it to happen so fast.

"What's the meaning of this?" Someone shouted from the herbivore herd, staring at Hibari as though he were the devil himself. Which wouldn't really surprise Hibari. He's been called demon, devil and monster enough times since he took the discipline of Namimori into his own hands, so to have someone show such fear did not surprise him. What _was_ a bit surprising, though, was the gall of the herbivore - the leader of this herd, it would seem - when he pointed his blue Flames coated saber in his direction and yelled. "Never mind, just kill it! Don't hesitate! Kill Hibari Kyoya!"

"Tch," was all Hibari let loose from his mouth before he took out his tonfa and fell into a fighting stance. Seeing as everyone's weapons were coated in Flames, he figured they must be of great help in a fight, perhaps making weapons more durable or adding an additional power behind each hit, so he tried to mimic it with his own Flames. Since he was so annoyed, it took little to no effort on his part for the Flames from his ring to erupt to his tonfa, not burning them but engulfing them, power radiating from the purple light. When the long range attackers fired at him and he lifted his tonfa to block the attacks, his Flames easily held up against the assault and when the first person dared come close enough to attack him but Kyoya whirled around and punched them in the gut with the tip of his weapon, the person was sent flying through what appeared to be a reinforced concrete wall. He gave a contemplative, impressed look at the Flame-covered weapon before a smirk pulled across his lips and he felt the usual thrill of battle and a spike of blood-lust course through him.

The men flinched back, but the leader held strong. "Activate your Box Weapons and attack at will!"

Something interesting happened after that order. People started taking out what looked like music boxes, usually in the same color as their Flames, and shoving rings lit up with Flames into the small, circular opening at the top. Kyoya watched in well hidden fascination as all types of animals, usually burning with Dying Will Flames on some part of their body, sprang out, charging at him almost immediately and while he could push them away or even disperse them back into Flames and into their containers, they had more than doubled the enemies' numbers, making an even bigger crowd, which only annoyed Kyoya further.

Then he caught sight of a purple box decorated with cloud designs laying at his feet innocently, as if calling to him, and he ducked down swiftly to pick it up. He'd seen how the others had done it, so he lit his Ring with Flames and wondered if this was a box actually meant for him. Yes, it matched the color of his Flames and yes, he _was_ that 'Guardian of the Vongola Cloud Ring', but he'd never seen even the Baby use something like this and not even those Varia idiots had weapons like these. Bucking Horse had also never mentioned this and given how easily he had grown attached and protective of Kyoya, he would have definitely told him if he knew of such weapons that could be used against the 'Vongola'. He wasn't really sure how all of this worked and he was actually a bit hesitant to lay his life in the hands of such strange technology, but there was no way he was going to be defeated by a bunch of herbivores just because he was new to a fighting style or technique.

So he shoved the Cloud Ring, lit with Cloud Flames, into the Cloud Box and out came the cutest little hedgehog Hibari had ever seen. It was almost as cute as Hibird. Maybe even equally as cute as his Hibird, whom he was worried about since the yellow bird didn't seem to have made the trip with him, wherever he was now.

The attacks stopped coming, people freezing in place and the place becoming stifling with fear. The hedgehog looked around, found Hibari and let out a cute coo, but when someone managed to snap out of their shock and tried to attack its master, the small creature showed its spikes - literally - as it grew into a huge purple sphere with sharp spikes everywhere and then started _multiplying_ until Hibari was out of range of enemy attack. It cooed down at Hibari in worry from its now higher position in the middle of the huge first sphere, the hedgehog still as small as it had been even if its spikes were much bigger now, and Hibari realized that this creature could be used as a weapon.

He used it as a partner instead.

Together with its propagating abilities and Hibari's merciless assault of brunt trauma, it took them a couple of hours to clear out most of the rest of what appears to be some sort of base. It's already been in a really rough shape when Hibari had appeared in it, but it bore the same marks of battle as he himself left in his wake, as though Hibari had been fighting here before even having _been_ there. Kyoya wouldn't actually brush it off as impossible, given how strange his life had gotten since he met the Baby and started noticing Sawada Tsunayoshi as more than just one of the herbivores he had to look after in his school. If flying herbivores were possible and flames that didn't actually burn, then why would this be impossible?

Then what might have been reinforcements came, the first one in being a man almost identical to Kyoya in appearance save for the chocolate brown eyes and the long braid cascading his back, and Hibari felt his temper snap because _this_ should be impossible, since his uncle, when he had last seen him, had been cursed into the form of an infant with a red magical pacifier but still the same mentality, memories and skills as his older self and the man - now a baby - had left and never visited Kyoya and his family again. Fon tried to ease his temper, but Kyoya was annoyed just enough that not even the Baby or Bucking Horse could calm him down or talk him down from a fight, and so Fon indulged him and they brawled. Destroying what was left of the already pitiful remains of the base in the process.

Eventually, Kyoya actually let go of his tonfa and allowed Fon to drag him into a frantic hug, checking him over for injuries and then fretting when he discovered that Hibari may have been using too much Flames. Others trickled in but Kyoya paid them no mind, as he suddenly found himself surprisingly tired and sleepy. He actually fell asleep leaning on his estranged uncle.

He woke up the next day to the sound of Hibrid singing the Nami-chuu anthem and it was almost as if it had all been a dream, but Fon, still an adult, was sitting at his bedside, napping in the chair, obviously exhausted. At the further side of the room, in a similar position, was what looked like an older Kusakabe Tetsuya, though he wore a suit and no red and gold Disciplinary Committee armband. Hibarid, when it noticed its master was awake, started happily chirping his name, flying over to him and landing on his finger when he extended it out of habit. The happy chirping woke the other two up and after some more fretting and being roped into eating and drinking something, Fon and Kusakabe Tetsuya explained the situation.

Hibari wanted to go back to that base and make sure there were, indeed, no stragglers that had managed to run from the carnage, but the Storm Arcobaleno was having none of that, saying something about how Hibari had used too much Flames when he had never used them before and how that could be damaging to his body. He didn't care. All he wanted to do was hunt down and bite to death all the bastards that had dared to try and take out _his_ prey, _his_ Bucking Horse. Dino's last breaths were promised to Hibari by the man himself. That someone would even dare even _think_ they had the privilege to that pissed him off!

Unfortunately, before he could express to his estranged uncle just how likely it was that he would listen to the man, the door opened and suddenly his room was full of even more fretting herbivores. He recognized each and every one of them and it was only then that it truly sank in that he had somehow ended up ten years in the future. Seeing Yamamoto Takeshi, Sasagawa Ryohei, Gokudera Hayato and Sawada Tsunayoshi all older than him, dressed in expensive suits and shoes and all of them wearing the Vongola Rings was just a bit too surreal for his tastes, and that was not even mentioning Sasagawa's little sister or her friend or the girl from Midori all girls middle school that often hung out with Sawada Tsunayoshi.

The most surprising, though, happened to be the Baby, who was no longer actually a baby but rather a grown man. Apparently, at some point, the Vongola Tenth Generation - including himself, which was also a shocker, as he had thought they'd replace him when he finally got bored and stopped bothering with the herbivores - had helped the Arcobaleno lift their curse, at least the part that kept them trapped in baby bodies. They still wore their Pacifiers and they still protected them and something called Tri-ni-sette, but the Baby and Fon agreed that it was for the best that he didn't learn too many details about the future. The Baby then shooed everyone out of the room and told them to leave Hibari be until the meeting that will take place tomorrow so they can figure out what to do now that ten-years-after Hibari's plan, whatever it was, was set in motion.

The meeting ... Didn't exactly go as planned. For one, Kyoya was ambushed by several people as soon as he and Fon stepped foot into the meeting room, all from different divisions of Vongola or their allies.

"Hibari-dono! No! Please, I beg thou, return to the Hibari-dono I work for! I have no desire to lead CEDEF again, least of all for real!" A young man that would probably be his older self's age fell to his knees before Kyoya's feet and actually dared hug the prefect around his middle, all but sobbing into his stomach as he pleaded.

"Oi! What did you trash do!? I can't believe you swapped the feral trash for the baby feral trash! Who am I supposed to decimate stupid trash with this Sunday?!" An older version of Xanxus growled, stomping his way over to the prefect, glaring holes down at him. Hibari glared right back, as unintimidated as he had been the first time he met this monkey king playing at being carnivore.

"Oya, oya, this is troublesome," Mukuro Rokudo complained with a pout, smart enough to stay out of the teen's reach because he clearly remembered how Kyoya was at that age. "Just when I _finally_ managed to get into his good graces that he doesn't try to kill me every time we're in the same room."

"Maa, maa, as happy as I am to meet this cute version of Hibari-chan, I prefer the Hibari-chan we all know and love," a white haired man said from a holographic screen, apparently not able to attend the meeting in person. "Who am I supposed to share top secret information with and annoy with my marshmallows?"

"I don't think any of you have a right to complain, given it's _my nephew_ that's in this situation," Fon said serenely but Kyoya could clearly hear the dangerous, slightly pissed off edge to his voice. Which, fair. Kyoya may have been very young - only five years old if he remembered well - when Fon had turned up to their doorstep as an infant, but he remembered very well how _enraged_ he had been to hear what had happened to his uncle.

"Guys, let's not get competitive about this," Sawada Tsunayoshi, twenty four years old, tried to defuse the situation. "I mean, I lost my strongest Guardian in this mess but you don't hear me complaining." That, of course, only set off the others more and Kyoya could only watch in mild fascination as his Sky and fellow Guardians started screaming - in the case of Gokudera Hayato and Sasagawa Ryohei - or throwing pointed arguments - in the case of Yamamoto Takeshi and Mukuro Rokudo - at the other complainers while Sawada Tsunayoshi and the other Mist Guardian tried to calm everyone down, only for the rest of the Varia to join in, as well as CEDEF member Lal Mirch until the Baby shot a single bullet from his green gun and everyone immediately shut up.

"I just lost my drinking companion. If I hear any of you utter a single complaint, you'll be getting a Chaos Shot to the head. Now stop squabbling like children and let's figure out what we'll do to best deal with this situation and help Hibari in his mission."

Some of the main points ended up being getting more Cloud rings to the older Hibari through Lambo, most of them provided by Bucking Horse himself, who was not yet informed of the switch between the two Hibaris, which was probably for the best. It was then agreed that while Verde might be a spectacular scientist, they were better off not letting him play with the time-space continuum. Byakuran, the marshmallow obsessed one on the screen, highly stressed the importance of not letting timelines and parallel worlds even accidentally collide. Teams were to be sent out to recover everything from the enemy base, Hibari was not to be experimented on - that was shot at the scientists and engineers, Irie Shoichi, a blond named Spanner and an Italian called Giannini, especially stressed for Verde with a Leon gun and a Storm Dragon pointed at his head to make the point stick - but people _were_ allowed to observe him if he wished to train as long as they didn't get away and, most importantly, his presence was to be kept a secret from everyone who had not been present at the meeting. He was settled into his older self's room and left to his own devices for the rest of the day.

Hibari decided to test out just how much he can do with Roll - the Cloud hedgehog - and ended up accidentally making it drunk on his Flames and causing quite a bit of property damage to the Vongola Mansion, which was in _Italy_. He wanted to go back to Namimori, but everyone refused.

People kept bothering him over the next couple of days, showing up at random and trying to make him do things with them. Sasagawa Ryohei challenged him to a spar, Yamamoto Takeshi invited him for a walk, Gokudera Hayato tried to grumpily offer him some explanations on what his future self did without revealing important details; an exasperated Chrome Dokuro was sent several times to check up on him on that pineapplehead's request while said pineapple did show up once to offer a spar if Hibari was getting bored or frustrated. Xanxus once spent three hours tailing after him, commenting on random topics like how he had a liger named Bester, how he was itching for a spar or how he was craving certain types of meat. Kyoya did his best to ignore him and ended up going to the Baby to lose the would-be carnivore.

Kusakabe Tetsuya eventually took it upon himself to stop the herbivores from bothering his leader when he noticed the teen was becoming twitchy, which thankfully Fon and Sawada Tsunayoshi also took note of and did their best to discourage the others from bothering Hibari. Then the Marshmallow-addict came and Kyoya let Roll nearly kill the man which, unfortunately, happened when Bucking Horse was on his way to visit Vongola Decimo on some important business. The blond rushed to the scene where Byakuran was doing his best not to fight the irate teenager, only to freeze at the sight of the prefect instead of the adult Hibari Kyoya.

All hell broke loose, but all Kyoya could think about was how older Dino was, how he hadn't changed all that much and how he had aged well. He was definitely more mature now and didn't need to be as close to his subordinates to be competent. He was even stronger, too, and he took a few hours to train some with Hibari before the idiot ran off to Verde with the schematics for the time travel device in an attempt to go after the older Kyoya, whom he accidentally let slip he was in love with. Kyoya threatened to bite him to death and tell the others immediately what he was doing if he didn't let him be involved, to which the blond protested, but Hibari was Hibari and Dino couldn't really deny him anything, it would seem, always the doting tutor, for all that Hibari had never seen him as such.

The last couple of days he spent in the future, Kyoya actually indulged the herbivores, as they knew that at that point, it was useless to try and stop Dino from his plan since Hibari was involved, too. He mostly spent his time with Fon and Reborn, though, because they seemed to understand him best, and the rest of his time was spent with the Bucking Horse.

Unlike the device that had swapped him and his older self, Bucking Horse had challenged Verde to create one that would allow, temporarily and for a rather short time, for the future and past selves of the travelers to coexist in the same time without destroying that dimension. Byakuran, when he heard about the project, the lover of chaos that he was, had been all too eager to give Verde some pointers. Hibari was still skeptical about anyone possessing the ability to share knowledge with alternate versions of themselves, but he let it be and just accepted the Marshmallow's assistance.

When the machine was done, it was just in time for the future Hibari's last few hours in the past. Since Cavallone was still around and the future hadn't changed, they could only guess his mission was successful. Cavallone still insisted that they should go, so Hibari said goodbye to everyone - something he usually really wouldn't bother doing, but it would seem his older self had gotten somewhat attached to these herbivores he was taking care of - promised the Baby they'd definitely get a drink together as soon as Hibari was the right age and reassured his fretting no-longer-estranged uncle that he'll take care of himself.

When they arrived in Sawada's bedroom - because the baby Lambo was there, and so was the Ten Year Bazooka, which acted as an anchor for Verde's machine - Bucking Horse spent the entire walk to Nami-chuu remiscenting about how nostalgic it all was. Kyoya was just relieved to be back in Namimori and his own time again, that is until he realized there was smoke coming from his school and knew that a fight had just ended. They sped into a sprint and soon found them as witnesses of the result of older Hibari's battle with the assassins sent after Bucking Horse.

The herbivores were talking between themselves but all Hibari could register was the destroyed courtyard, the missing chunks of the wall fence, the few uprooted trees and the damage done to the school building itself.

All done because Cavallone got stupid over an insignificant matter that he didn't even deal with properly.

"I'll bite you to death!" He said in perfect tandem to his older self, who was also pissed but for a different reason.

Both Dinos paled.


	13. Chapter 13

"W-wait a minute, Kyoya," the older Dino pleaded with both versions of the Vongola Cloud Guardian, who both looked ready to indeed go through with their threat, even if the older one had taken off his Ring now that his younger self was there and wearing his in order to not accidentally destroy the fragile balance of the space-time continuum. "I only did it because you had to go and do something crazy like this! Honestly, you should have expected that I'd come after you! It's always been like that between us!"

"Kyoya, wait!" The younger Dino yelped, waving his hands in surrender and a stopping motion both. "This had nothing to do with me! I just came to Namimori to see you and Tsuna and the others! I didn't even disrupt the discipline or anything, honest!"

"Say your prayers, Cavallone," was all the older Hibari said while the younger just glared pointedly at his version that was standing so close to the damage he was the ultimate source of.

" _Two_ Hibaris?! This has to be a nightmare, right?" Gokudera Hayato could be heard just as both Kyoyas lunged for their Dinos and the blonds panicked. But then the older Dino stopped panicking and just stood still, preparing to take the hit, which ultimately made the older Hibari stop and pout at him.

"I'm not fighting you, Kyoya. I can tell you're not injured but you don't look in top shape, either and I'm worried enough as it is already," the older Cavallone boss said with a sigh, raising a hand in a mimicry of his younger self's earlier action, cupping the younger man's cheek in his palm and smiling almost lovingly at him. "I'm so glad to see that you're safe, Kyoya."

"Of course I'm safe, stupid Bucking Horse," grumbled Hibari the elder as he sighed and leaned into the contact more heavily than with the younger Dino, lowering the tonfa. "Honestly, only you can get into this sort of mess, I swear, although Sawada Tsunayoshi is a close second."

Dino laughed and boldly drew the dark haired man into an intimate hug. "Please don't worry me like that ever again. You know how dangerous these things could be. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you because of me or my actions."

"As if I'd make a blunder like that," huffed the Cloud, lifting his own arms to return the hug.

Not far away, Dino didn't have his older counterpart's experience in how best to make Hibari Kyoya cease an attack or fight and instead of waiting for the hit to never come, he took out his whip and did his best to intercept it. Only Kyoya had been spending days sparring with Fon, the older Dino, some of the Guardians and even Xanxus, so he had gotten stronger yet again and the younger Dino found he had to up his game. He still eventually got a tonfa to the face and this time he hadn't managed to minimize the damage as much as he usually could during a spar, but thankfully that seemed to satisfy Hibari enough to stop attacking.

Which, however, brought the prefect's attention to the older version of the two and the silver eyed boy almost _gawked_ at the intimate embrace the two seemed to be so casually sharing. Hibari changed what he thought he knew about their relationship in the future from a pinning Dino to a steady mutual relationship. That's ... going to take some time getting used to, especially as Hibari wasn't exactly sure if he can actually feel such emotions at all. All he knew was that he tolerated the Bucking Horse, was maybe a bit possessive of him and liked his company enough not to actually avoid him when he comes for a visit, like he could easily do since no one knew where he lived, anyway.

He figured if there's anyone he _might_ one day be interested to explore that with it would be the blond, but he definitely won't be admitting to that out loud, ever.

As if hearing his resolution, his older self lifted his head enough to smirk knowingly at him, but said nothing.

Not that Hibari could actually pay attention to that when he suddenly found himself wrapped in a pair of strong, warm arms that fit rather comfortably around his frame. "Kyoya, _mio Dio_ , I was so _worried_ when I heard you'd disappeared! I've searched all over the place and when we couldn't find you, I was _this close_ to having a panic attack! Don't _do_ that to me again, Kyoya, please. And I'm sorry for the damage that happened to Nami-chuu. I swear I'll pay for the repairs myself, just, please ... I ... "

Hibari spent a moment contemplating whether he should elbow his way out, but Bucking Horse was surprisingly comfy, so he decided he'll stay there for a few moments longer. Besides, the grip on him was tight but careful, but it was also trembling and while Kyoya might not be a people-person, he's very good at reading people, whether it was for a fight or just in general. In short, he could see clearly that Cavallone was rather shaken by the whole turn of events, so he decided to let the blond have this one time without getting disciplined for the ruckus he'd caused. Though he found it a bit worrisome how Bucking Horse seemed to understand what his lack of violence and silence meant and how the blond kept muttering 'Thank you's into his hair.

Perhaps that was what eventually lead to what their older selves seem to have?

"Hibari, Hibari!" The younger Hibird started chanting once the danger finally dissipated from the air, fluttering over to its master and immediately singing its master's favorite song. That finally made the rest of the tension in the prefect drain away and he sighed minutely, probably not even the Bucking Horse plastered to him noticing the slight shift. Then, because the world was finally as it should be, Hibari pushed Cavallone off of himself and that was the signal for the older pair to part, too, especially as the older Dino's watch started beeping.

"Well, it would seem it's time for us to go," the older blond said, shooting a smile at the gawking Romario before turning his attention to Tsuna and the others. "Take care, guys. I can't wait for us to go on more crazy adventures." He shot his younger self a wink and a thumbs up before offering his hand to the older Hibari, who took it without a moment's hesitation, not even looking at it as he still addressed Reborn.

"You might have to wait a few years, but I'll be sure to treat the future you to a few drinks tonight."

The World's Greatest Hitman seemed highly amused by that. He then shot the present day Hibari a glance and nodded to his future drinking companion. "I'll take care of them." Because saying that Hibari Kyoya by himself needs being taken care of is just _asking_ for the teen to run off only gods knows where and break all contact with everyone just so he can prove that he doesn't need it.

"I'll leave it to you, then." The older Hibari turned to the prefect as smoke started spreading around the two visitors from the future, a sort of light emitting from them as if they were about to blow. "Take care of Namimori and the herbivores. They'd be lost without you. Also, kick Mukuro in the shins one of these days, will you?"

The Chairman nodded, as if that was completely expected and didn't need a reminder. Which it actually was, anyway, so whatever. "I'm keeping this," the prefect said, moving his jacket just enough to show a purple Vongola Box strapped to his belt.

The older one smirked. "I wasn't going to ask for it back. I already have my own," he said as he showed off his own Box which contained Roll, because, really, all either Hibari cared about was the cute Cloud hedgehog hidden inside. Hibari spared a glance at everyone gathered around and gave them a single, halfhearted 'See you later' just as the smoke completely covered both him and the future Dino and a moment later with a loud _Poof!_ they were gone. Everyone kind of just stared at the spot they were last seen in, not sure how to go about their day now, or what to think of the future Hibari they'd been around for days without recognizing him, but then the most natural, ordinary thing - for Nami-chuu - happened.

"What are you all still crowding here for? Class is in session." They all turned to gawk at the just returned Disciplinary Committee Chairman, finding him dead serious, annoyed and threatening as usual. There was even a tonfa out, ready to rain down pain and discipline on them. "Get going or I'll bite you to death."

"Bastard, we just got dragged into this mess because of you and you think-" Gokudera never managed to finish his sentence since Yamamoto saw Hibari's eyes narrow further and acted quickly, covering the Italian's mouth with both hands and laughing as he dragged the bomber along.

"Sorry, Hibari. We'll be going to class now. Sorry for being late."

Tsuna was smart enough to follow after and Ryohei kind of just went along with it.

"I'm glad you came back safe, Hibari-san."

"It's good to have you back to the EXTREME!"

Hibari just shot them a deadly look and Tsuna squeaked but dragged the older boy along before they managed to annoy the prefect further and actually get bitten to death by the stronger than ever Cloud Guardian. And while Kyoya might not show it, he was touched by - only a little; he blamed it on the little trip to the future where he witnessed just what type of bonds his older self had unwittingly created with all of these people, those loud herbivores that followed the monkey king and all those others - the show of concern and genuine relief that he was fine.

"They're all still hopeless," Reborn said with a sigh when it was only Hibari, Dino, Romario, Kusakabe and him left outside. "Still, I'm glad to see you safe and sound, Hibari. You missed out on quite a bit of fun. Remind me to take you to the Midnight Mafioso at some point. I think you'd have a blast."

Hibari looked down at the Baby and blinked. "Wao, it really _is_ weird seeing you as a baby again, Baby."

Reborn frowned. "Again? What does that mean?"

The teenager smirked in a way that spelled out he knew something and he wasn't telling. "I guess you'll find out soon enough. Now, Kusakabe, I expect a full report on your activities in my absence as well as the happenings of Nami-chuu on my desk by lunch." The Vice-Chairman immediately saluted and waited for a dismissal before running off to fulfill his Chairman's command. Hibari turned to Dino and pointed towards the trashed Ferrari. " _You_ are going to remove that from the school vicency and then come back to take me out for lunch in a five star restaurant, since my future self went through so much trouble for you. Baby, don't cause chaos in my school if I'm not around to ensure the discipline will be maintained afterwards but otherwise do as you like. Now, if you gentlemen would excuse me, I must go to the shopping district to bite an estranged uncle to death for not keeping in touch all of these years."

"Bite to death, bite to death!" Hibird chanted as it flew over its master's head as the Head prefect started calmly walking away.

"Oi, wait, Kyoya!" Dino scrambled after the teen, only just barely registering the other's words. Romario followed his boss while Reborn followed Hibari, curious to see if his theory will prove to be correct as they all headed towards the shopping district. "Don't just disappear like that again! I really was very worried, you know."

"Get that pile of junk metal away from my school."

"Don't worry, Romario's already arranging for it! Seriously, Kyoya, don't just run off, please! Here, I'll go with you. I'll buy you whatever you want and I won't interfere in your affairs, but just ... I'm going back to Italy in a few hours. Can't you spend some time with me?"

"No," the prefect said coldly and Dino instantly deflated. "You're not."

"Huh?" The blond gawked, unsure where this was going.

"You're not going back to Italy. Not today, not tomorrow and not until next Friday, since I missed the whole of your visit." His voice broke no arguments and a glance at Romario warned the older man from going against his words in making the Cavallone boss return before Hibari allows it. "If anyone tries to make issues about this, I will bite them to death, be it in Italy or here."

"Kyoya, I can't just-"

" _I_ will one day forego everything to save _your_ hide, Bucking Horse. You owe me. Besides, it's just one more week. If anything happens, I'll fly over to Italy with you and deal with your enemies myself. I might just do that regardless, just to warn any idiots to not try anything in the future."

"You can stay a bit longer, Dino," Reborn said in amusement, smirking at the Cavallone's dilemma. "Even mafia bosses deserve a vacation with their lover."

Hibari whirled around to glare at the baby at the same time Dino did, one looking murderous - and embarrassed - while the other seemed embarrassed and close to delirious with happiness. " _LOVER!?_ " Three different voices shouted, the third sounding a bit childish and they all turned to see another baby - an Arcobaleno with the Red Pacifier - standing on the wall they were passing by and _gawking_ at them.

"Since when does my cute little nephew have a _lover_?! He's not even sixteen yet!" The Storm Arcobaleno, Fon, who looked like a small duplicate of Hibari Kyoya in baby mode except for the longer hair and the brown eyes, asked incredulously, looking almost faint with shock.

"Ciaossu, Fon. It's good to see you again. It's also good to confirm my suspicions _and_ win the bet Colonello, Viper and I had going. Did you know Viper thought Hibari was your kid? Colonello said he was a clone." Hibari seemed rather amused by these news while Romario, Dino and Fon remained dumbfounded. The two Italians were even only able to stare disbelievingly at the two relatives, trying to absorb this new data into what they already knew and believed of the world.

Then Hibari looked at his chibified uncle and figured a repeat of his first meeting with Fon in years should be repeated. "For dropping out of contact for years, I will bite you to death."

That snapped the Storm Arcobaleno out of his stupor enough to evade the first strike of tonfa that decimated half of the wall he'd been balancing on, the brick and concrete crumbling to the ground like broken glass. "Wait, Kyoya, can't we talk about this? You know I never wanted to do it, it was for your own safety!"

"Come back here and fight me, coward!"

"Wait, Kyoya! Come on, I'll treat you to hamburgers, okay?" Dino pleased after the two relatives that had started going all out, though they both seemed content to not use flames, so at least it wasn't _that_ destructive or dangerous a fight. Well, at least not considering _who_ the participants of the fight _were_. One might be an Arcpbaleno, but the other was just as devastatingly terrifying and strong. Perhaps it was a family trait, though Dino definitely didn't want to contemplate on that when two such dangerous people were having an all out brawl right in front of him and Reborn was too busy being amused by it and comparing the two's fighting style to try and get away and Romario had been smart enough to duck into a nearby backyard of a house to get out of range of any stray attacks or debris, which left it up to the blond to get the Sun Arcobaleno out of the way of harm, too. "Just stop already, before someone calls the police and they arrest us!"

Kyoya actually stopped his attacks and Fon followed suit, more because he didn't want to accidentally hurt his nephew than because he was stopping at Dino's request. "I own Namimori and everything and everyone _in_ Namimori. The foolish cop that would dare to try and arrest me would be chased out of town by his fellow policemen."

"Sometimes I think fate was cruel to make you or Dame-Tsuna heirs to powerful famiglia when Hibari is clearly the one born to be a don," Reborn commented in a voice that suggested he would be cackling if he was anyone other than Reborn.

Fon's eyes narrowed as he focused in on the Cavallone don. "Wait, didn't Reborn just insinuate that you're Kyoya's lover?" A hard, murderous, overprotective glint entered chocolate eyes and killing intent started pouring out of the other Arcobaleno. The smile on his face was that of a predator and Dino felt dread crawl up his spine while alarm bells started ringing in his ears. "I guess any lover of Kyoya's ought to be _introduced_ to the family, yes?"

Dino, trusting his survival instincts because Fon was as dangerous as Kyoya but had not an ounce of the seeming fondness the teenager had, hauled ass like he'd never done before, running back towards Nami-chuu, because there he could at least hide in the one place people were mostly smart to leave well enough alone unless they wanted the demon of Namimori descending down on them like an avenging skylark, Fon only a few steps behind because he'd spent a few seconds staring in stunned silence at the retreat when he'd been expecting a fight before taking after the don as well.

Romario didn't even try to go after his boss, already seeing a lost cause and lots of bandages in the future. Reborn just shook his head, disappointed and disbelieving. "Still such a wimp." A look at Hibari at least showed that the teen was amused and satisfied with how that meeting had went. "So, what should we do now?"

"I wouldn't say no to a good, strong drink," the Cavallone second in command commented, more to himself than anyone else. Hibari immediately started leading the way, not even glancing behind himself to see if the hitman and the right hand man were following. Reborn had a good idea where they were heading, though he couldn't really make himself believe it because Hibari was all about discipline and rules, but, then again, Hibari could be any year he wanted to be. Romario still stared wide eyed at the club they found themselves in front of. "Can we even get in?" After all, Midnight Mafioso required a reservation made four years in advance to get in.

"Didn't I already say?" Hibari Kyoya smirked over his shoulder as he sauntered up to the bouncer by the door, who immediately opened it for him and even gave a little bow. "Namimori and everything _in_ Namimori is mine to do with as I please."

Reborn actually grinned.


	14. Chapter 14

Hibari Kyoya, finally back in his own time after a week-long mission in the past, huffed as he at last entered his own bedroom, even if it was only the one he claimed in the Vongola Mansion and not at his home back in Namimori.

Today alone had been more tiring than the whole past week, because he had to threaten every single member of his family and many allies to leave him the hell alone because the idiotic herbivores were _crowding_ , for Tri-ni-sette's sake! Around _him_. And that was after he had to destroy Verde's whole lab and hack his network to make sure the scientist can't make a repeat of the device, though the green haired Arcobaleno didn't seem interested in the project anymore since he'd already discovered all there was about it. Kyoya destroyed that data, too, in case someone later down the line might try to remake the thing based on _his_ notes. Verde _was_ upset about that, but Fon and Reborn had been waiting for Dino's return with Kyoya and between the four of them, Verde didn't even try to protest.

Then, of course, came Fon's fretting and Reborn's quiet worry, but those two he can stand since they're not loud or overbearing about it and it was only two other people besides Dino. And they calmed down when he told them he was fine, because he had stopped trying to brush off any possible injuries around them years ago, since they were actually the rare few people who can read him and know if he's lying.

But then as soon as he set foot in the Vongola Mansion, he was _ambushed_ , which didn't really end well for Decimo and his Guardians, nor for the Varia and Byakuran, who had come just so he can annoy the hell out of the returning skylark. Really, after nearly getting turned into Swiss cheese by Roll when they had all charged at Kyoya in worry, one would think that they'd _not_ crowd around him, poking and prodding and getting into his personal space. In the end, they clearly deserved the smackdown he delivered upon them, as well as trapping them in an inverted Roll sphere until they passed out from lack of air.

Dino, the traitor, had just watched on in amusement until Hibari got sick of his grin and whacked him with a tonfa into unconsciousness.

That, of course, left time for Hibari to go and change - he was going to throw away this suit; he's been wearing it all day each day for a _week_ and longer - but by the time he'd had a bath and came down for some food, most of the herbivores had woken up and the chaos ensued once again. Starting with people trying to kidnap him for a medical check, reports from his mission, spars, stories about his adventure and, of course, scoldings for being so reckless. It was a bit entertaining in the beginning, when people would at random just pick him up where he was standing, sitting or walking and just make a run for it. He hated the fireman carry but it was at least less humiliating than the princess carry Byakuran had dared do - or rather, _try_ , before he got a tonfa to the face. He got sick of it by the time even the usually calm and sane Chrome, his favorite Guardian, got involved, almost making him want to just jump onto a commuter plane back to Japan, even if it meant spending hours upon end with oblivious herbivores.

Gokudera Hayato proved to be extra annoying since he demanded more reports than the ones he sent through Lambo while Lambo proved to be the sanest of the bunch, only asking Kyoya if he was alright once before doing his best to stay out of his way. Which wasn't surprising at all, since Lambo grew up with Kyoya's temperament as something to fear more than any possible enemy.

Basil ended up backing down on his own when he realized he was annoying Kyoya with his worry and was being considerably rude about it, so he just expressed his relief that the man was back and promised to have reports on all CEDEF activities in his absence delivered to his desk in the morning. Tetsu showed how well he knew Hibari by not even asking about his well-being, instead just handing over a bunch of files and wishing him a welcome back home.

The Arcobaleno, except Fon and Reborn, ended up being a bit annoying but he wasn't even all that surprised since they loved causing chaos and they loved even more when they could drag Kyoya into it. Because of his absence, that had been impossible and they were a bit pissed with him for not taking them on his own crazy mission with them. It didn't matter how much he tried to explain that the world of ten years past would not have been prepared to face the grown, no-longer-cursed-to-be-babies Arcobaleno, but thankfully they can be kept at bay most of the time.

The Varia were just plain loud and chaotic and Hibari actually allowed himself to be pulled into a debrief with Sawada Tsunayoshi, even if it turned into a new bout of fretting from his first and youngest Sky. Anything to get him away from his raging Sky who was trying to stuff him with meat or burst his eardrums as his way of showing care. Kyoya actually owed Mamon one for getting out of there so quickly and Natsu two for getting him out of Sawada Tsunayoshi's bout of fretting.

Sasagawa Ryohei actually managed to get into an argument with the Baby because the two Suns both wanted to get a drink with Hibari and the hitman believed he had dibs since Hibari was his official drinking companion. Then Yamamoto Takeshi tried to drag him along for a walk and some ice cream, only to be thwarted by Spanner and Giannini who both wanted more information on how his trip had went. Fon saved him from the lot of them, but then Hibari ran into Mukuro and finally all hell broke loose.

"Finally got sick of them, did you?" Dino, who was lounging on his bed with a laptop in front of him, no doubt doing his own work, said with a chuckle, looking up only when he heard the distinctive sound of shuffling clothing. Kyoya smirked when immediately those hazel eyes became locked on him. Even after all these years, he still had so much power over the don with the simplest of gestures and even after all these years of having that power, Hibari still enjoyed it immensely.

He still scowled as he recalled what had happened just moments ago that had started a chain reaction of chaos and destruction that was an everyday occurrence in the lives of Vongola Decimo and his Guardians, even if the source may differ each time. "That pineapple _hugged_ me." It had been traumatizing. While, yes, Mukuro and Hibari _had_ somehow become rivalry-based homicidal friends over the years, physical contact of such kind was still a very big no-no, as it was with everyone else besides Fon and Dino, but _especially_ Mukuro. Kyoya never forgave him for the sakura thing during the Koukuyo Incident all those years ago and Mukuro had accepted that they'd never be nearly as buddy-buddy as Hibari allowed some of the other Guardians to be with him.

The Cavallone boss winced at hearing that, finally understanding the trigger. "Ah. I hadn't thought him suicidal." The fact that everyone already accepted Mukuro was most probably clinically insane and just brushed it off as part of their lives. Besides, there was no way any one of them would actually pass a psych evaluation as sane. Not even the little animal. Or Sasagawa's little sister and she was definitely the sanest of them all.

"Doesn't matter. It's been dealt with." It was good to let loose after not having good enough opponents for _days_. Especially since everyone was still fretting and trying to _restrain_ him, just to make sure he doesn't accidentally hurt himself. It gave him an excuse to remind them who they were talking to and discipline them for their stupidity. And after the herbivores were sufficiently bitten to death, he'd had a cup of tea with Fon and a glass of whiskey with the Baby before finally turning in for the night. It was still early and he wasn't exactly tired - adrenaline was still pumping through his veins in both anger at someone daring to target one of _his_ and from the annoyance caused by his very strange famiglia - but Bucking Horse always knew how to tire him out just right if he needed it.

And he most certainly needed it, to the point that he might even allow the blond to cuddle him afterwards. They've had life-affirming sex plenty of times before and Kyoya had grown frustrated with seeing a younger Dino prancing around with not a care in the world, allowed only to watch but not touch or even _talk_ , watching him from a distance so he can keep the blond safe. It had reminded him too much of the first couple of years of knowing Dino, when he finally realized he may see the blond herbivore as someone at least partially important to him and when he finally realized he even desired him. It had been almost traumatizing for the young, antisocial Hibari, who had enjoyed his Namimori and wanted nothing to do with the rest of the world, but by then he was almost actively involved with the Vongola and had resignedly accepted to be Sawada Tsunayoshi's Cloud Guardian. Dino had had to walk him through the whole starting phase of their relationship when the Bucking Horse finally caught on that the prefect might return his feelings in his own Kyoya-way, which was embarrassing on several levels.

The ex-prefect had nearly killed his lover after their first night together, because he had never experienced a pain like _that_ even after the most grueling of battles. The night had been pleasurable, sure, but the aftereffects in the morning had left him with burning cheeks and refusing to leave the bathroom after having brained Cavallone with a tonfa. He'd only let Fon in when Bucking Horse called him in a panic and that had been a _very_ uncomfortable conversation to have for their just mending relationship after years of being estranged relatives.

He still hadn't let Bucking Horse touch him for a month afterwards.

Now, though, he very casually removed his clothing until he was only in his dress shirt and boxers before he crawled into bed with his long time lover, all but pushing the laptop to the floor and uncaring of whether it would get damaged or not. Dino didn't seem to care much, either, as his hands immediately came to circle the younger man's waist. The kiss that followed was the best welcome home he'd received all day and Kyoya sank into it happily, straddling his lover's waist and just melting into the taller man.

Sawada Tsunayoshi was his freedom to roam. Xanxus was the one he measured his strength against, the one who let him let loose without fear of how much damage he'll cause and actually _welcomed_ it. Byakuran, though they didn't share a bond nowhere near as strong as the one binding him to the other Skies, was his escape into the less than sane parts of the mafia, who appreciated how aggressive he can be towards pretty much everyone else but had an interesting soft side for animals and young children.

Dino, though, Dino Cavallone would always be his home. The one who understood him best out of his three (four) Skies, the one who worried but never tried to restrain him with such worry. The one who doted on him and helped him without accidentally trampling over his pride. The one who always seemed to know just what he needed.

Hibari Kyoya's reputation was fearsome, bloody and downright terrifying. Most of the mafia world was horrified to hear he was even in the same country as them, half of the time, and plenty of people saw him as an unfeeling monster. His limitless potential for growth, the wealth of his Flames, his natural skill for picking up new fighting styles and his incredibly sharp mind made people label him as inhuman, a demon, devil-spawn. You name it, he's heard it. It certainly didn't help his reputation that he had stood up against Vongola's 'Young Lion' Sawada Iemitsu and made the Sky cower before him, or that it took _three_ (and then later even a fourth joined in) powerful Skies to form a true Harmony with him that left them all on equal footing and perfectly balanced. The fact that he could pound any other Sky into the ground in a fight and that half of the time he won spars against his own Skies had earned him the nickname that will probably go down in history books; the Cloud that bites the Skies.

Honestly, Kyoya thought the title was too flashy and dramatic for his tastes, but it stuck and spread like wildfire, so he let it be. It wasn't as if it were untrue. _He_ was the one who most likely will take down a don wishing to oppose the Vongola, after all, and the mafia so loved their traditions to keep their leaders Skies if at all possible.

Though the words 'bite you to death' have certainly become the source of nightmares all over the world.

Hibari was actually pretty smug about that, even if he would wish that mafia children would stop repeating them in games based on the retold adventures they heard from anyone Vongola related or, worse yet, the Tenth Generation Guardians themselves. Someone should seriously put a leash on Yamamoto Takeshi. The Rain took too much pleasure in spreading such innocent chaos and they all suspected it was Reborn's influence.

Hibari frowned when Dino pulled back and made no move to move things along, instead just drawing the Japanese man into a warm hug. "Just let me hold you like this. Just for a few moments, Kyoya, then we can continue."

He would have protested had he not been very comfortable with his head on Dino's chest, listening to his Bucking Horse's steady, reassuring heartbeat. "Herbivore," he said without any heat in his words and he knew Dino was smart enough not to mention anything about how Hibari was nuzzling into him more. The first time he'd said something about it, years ago, he'd walked around with a bruised eye as though an actual horse had kicked him. Hibari, back then and sometimes even to this day, could not understand why the blond had still paraded the wound around as though it was the greatest gift he'd been given. Italians were weird.

But they were also warm and this particular one loved carding his fingers through Kyoya's hair, so he guessed he could bear with it.

Dino sighed when Hibari finally dozed off, glad that his lover was finally resting. Sure, he'd _love_ it if they could do it right now, but he's known Hibari for years and he hadn't really needed all those years to learn that the younger man was likely to push himself well past his limit, never admitting fatigue or pain or hunger or any other weakness. Kyoya was more likely to push himself to death than anyone ever managing to kill him. They had all the time in the world for them to affirm that Kyoya was, indeed, back and okay, but right now, what the Japanese man really needed was a good, long night of sleep.

The blond himself could use it, too. Ever since he learned where his lover was and _why_ , he could not get a blink of sleep. His worry for the younger Kyoya who had been running around causing havoc in this time hadn't really helped, either, because the teenager Hibari was easy to provoke into a fight and all of the people who would have asked for a spar would forget themselves that, while incredibly strong himself, it was not the same indomitable Kyoya they were used to, Decimo's strongest Guardian, the Cloud that bites the Skies. That Kyoya was still a child, still had a long way to go to reach his true potential, though even their own Hibari has yet to reach it.

(Years ago, Dino had said Hibari Kyoya's growth would be unlimited. The world was still learning just how right he had been that night.)

Dino allowed himself to kiss his lover's forehead before sliding down a bit on the pillows and pulling the covers over the both of them. It spoke greatly just how exhausted Kyoya truly was that he didn't even stir, not one bit, as he did so, which was really saying something given that a falling flower petal can wake him up. Then again, that he didn't wake up ready to fight despite his exhaustion - because he _can_ manage that, thank you very much; Mukuro would know, given the Mist had once tried to pull a prank on an utterly exhausted Kyoya, sure that the skylark would not be able to bite him to death in his current condition, only to find himself flying through a wall with several broken and bruised ribs. An exhausted Kyoya was quite possibly an even more dangerous Kyoya - also spoke greatly of the trust the black haired male held for Dino, something that the mafia boss will forever thank whatever greater power had granted him such a precious gift.

"Welcome home, my beloved Kyoya," the Cavallone whispered into Kyoya's hair and closed his eyes, arms snug around his lover and settled down to sleep.

In the morning, he'll do his best not to get bitten to death for daring to lull his lover to sleep when he had other plans and then make up for his transgressions.

But those were worries for the Dino of tomorrow.

Right now, it was nap time.

**LA FINE**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omake:
> 
> In the middle of the night, Bovino Lambo suddenly shot up straight in his bed, all sleep immediately erasing itself from his person as he realized something very important and very dangerous.
> 
> "Shit! We left all those Cloud rings with Young Vongola!" He went as if to get up but remembered his own childhood and a certain 'Kumo-sama's' dangerous moods and winced. "I'm sure they'll come in handy to calm his moods and spare their lives."
> 
> With that, Lambo went back to sleep with a light snore in seconds.


End file.
